Owing to it’s corrosion and heat resistance, stainless steel (SS) is one of the most commonly used materials for fasteners. Today, we’ll learn more about fasteners, including their types, properties, and applications.
WHAT ARE FASTENERS? – A fastener is a piece of hardware that mechanically connects or fastens two or more objects. Fasteners are commonly utilized to develop non-permanent joints, which can be removed or dismantled without causing serious damage to the joining components.
TYPES OF SS FASTENERS – There exists a wide variety of Stainless Steel Fasteners suitable for various applications and needs. The most popular types of fasteners are listed below.
BOLTS
A bolt is a mechanical fastener with a threaded shaft. They are the most common type of fastener and are closely related to screws. Bolts are further classified into many kinds viz. Hex, Shoulder, Double ends, Eye, Carriage bolts, etc.
Application: used to secure the positioning of pipes and tubes or other significant parts of the tube without needing any holes in the tube itself by securing two unthreaded components together.
SCREWS
A screw is a piece of metal with a threaded surface on one end and a point on the other, as well as a twisted slotted head. The various types of screws are machine, deck, hex lag, self-drilling, etc.
Application: used to hold objects together, used to position objects.
NUTS
A nut is a kind of fastener that has internal threads. It’s paired with a correspondingly sized mating bolt. The different types of nuts are cap, weld, hex, barrel, rivet nut, etc.
Application: to avoid axial mobility it is fastened to a bolt, screw, or stud.
WASHERS
A washer can be described as a thin circular metal plate with a hole that distributes the load of a threaded fastener like a bolt or nut. Washers can be further classified into 3 major types – Plain, Spring and, Locking.
Application: to eliminate leakage, prevent loosening due to excess vibrations during working, even distribution of pressure from nut/bold on the fastened component.
RIVETS
These are a form of permanent fastener used to secure various types of materials. They also have a remarkable weight-to-strength ratio. A rivet has a pre-formed head at one head, called the factory head. Following insertion, a new head is created, known as the shop head. POP, colored, multi-grip, structural, tri-fold, etc. are a few types of rivets.
Application: they are used to attach two or more materials effectively and efficiently, forming a stronger and more secure joint than that of a screw.
ANCHORS
Anchors are heavy-duty fastener that is used to connect structural and non-structural еlеmеntѕ to concrete or even other materials including epoxy, polyester resin, etc. Some well-known types of anchors are- acoustical wedge, drop-in, double expansion shield, hammer drive pin, sleeve, wedge, etc.
Application: used to resist tension due to uplift forces and tension due to bending moments, to connect the concrete foundation of a building to its wall, used to hold lag screws, used to create handrails, lighting fixtures and other fixtures.
INSERTS
Inserts come in a variety of forms. They perform a range of tasks thus, their shapes may vary. Internal and external threads are found on inserts. They can be classified into the following types: dowel pin, threaded rod, unthreaded rod, helical threaded, etc.
Application: used to reinforce joints, fix eroded internal thread, used as keys in rotating machines, to fasten anchor bolts to hanging pipelines, as shelf support.
RETAINING RINGS
Retaining rings are fasteners used to hold i.e. retain many assemblies together. They are installed in a groove (a long and narrow indentation built into a material) and other parts of the assembly stay against it. Bowed-E, E-style, external shaft, internal housing are some of the types of retaining rings
Application: used to hold components onto a shaft or into a bore.
Some steel grades are slightly magnetic; most stainless steel fasteners are much less magnetic than regular stainless steel. Due to the characteristic anti-corrosive properties of the metal, the resistance will not be lost if scratched during installation or use. This makes SS a suitable choice of material for fasteners.
