Abstract: A noncircular opening is formed in a material. A mandrel or mandrel and expansion sleeve are used for coldworking a circular region of the noncircular opening, and for forcing a hard metal insert into coldworking contact with the material immediately bordering the remaining portion of the noncircular opening. An insert may be placed within a slot to form with a circular closed end of the slot a substantially circular opening. An expansion sleeve is placed in the opening and an expansion mandrel is pulled through it, or an expansion mandrel is used alone in the opening, to coldwork the circular region of the opening. An insert may be placed within an opening and then a mandrel moved through an expansion sleeve placed in a circular opening in the insert, or a mandrel alone may be moved through the opening, to radially expand the insert and coldwork the material bounding the noncircular opening.

Abstract: A pair of openings (14) are drilled in a workpiece (12) at locations spaced inwardly from an edge (76) of the workpiece (12). Each opening is cold-expanded by the passage of a mandrel (46') only, or a mandrel (46) and split sleeve (58), to create an annular zone of residual compressive stresses (72) in the workpiece material immediately surrounding the openings (14'). Then the workpiece (12) is cut along lines extending from the edge (76) inwardly to central regions of the cold-expanded openings (14'). The workpiece material between the two openings (14') and the two cuts (74) is removed. The edge portions (72) of the material in the vicinity of the cuts (74) and the openings (14') are machined to a final desired size and shape, to define connector slots (84) having cold-expanded round regions bounding the slots (84).