What kind of methods can one use to bind two objects as one, without any adhesive
A general term you may find helpful here is fastening.

A search on fastening method turns up some interesting resources that discuss various fastening methods used in industry. I'd start there with the abstract discussions. Those are likely places to find other general category terms you can use to refine your search.

I found this one interesting for a start: Fastening &amp; Assembly.

It would indicate what you're looking for may belong to the category "integral fasteners".