Fasteners & Anchors

Types
Some of the most common types of fasteners are

Bolts - Bolts in the fastener hardware market is referred to threaded fasteners that are designed to be used with nuts or in tapped hole. Examples are carriage bolt.

Clamps - Clamp is a fastening device that is designed to hold or secure the objects tightly in order to prevent movement or separation, especially in case of rising inward pressure.

Grommet - Also known as eyelets, these grommets fasteners are rings made of rubber, plastic or metal that are inserted in the hole in order to shield the hole from sharp objects.

Inserts Fasteners - An insert fastener is used in light weight panels. It is characterized by the flat circular head and depending from the head is a cylindrical body with a pair of radial flanges parallel to each other and to the head.

Lifting Chains - This kind of mechanical fastener is used with hoists, cranes, winches, and other handling equipments and is used in rigging slings and for lashing.

Nails & Anchors - A nail or anchor is often described as a pin shaped sharp object that is made of metal and is used as a fastener that are driven into the work place with the aid of an hammer.

Nuts - This is one variety of mechanical fastener that is categorized by a threaded hole. they are the most commonly used mechanical hardware used to bolt or fasten many parts together.

Pin Fasteners - Another most commonly seen member of the mechanical hardware industry is pin fastener used to bolt objects or material together. Usually made of steel, it is formed by drawing out a thin wire, whose tip is sharpened and a head is added on top.

Pulleys - This mechanism of fastener involves wheels and grooves along with other parts to change the direction of an applied force, transmit rotational motion, or realize a mechanical advantage in either a linear or rotational system of motion.

Rivets - Consisting of a smooth cylindrical shaft, this mechanical fastener was used in traditional wooden boat building. However, they are confused with nails an bolts most of the time and today are confined only to the aircraft industry.

Screws - A shaft with a helical groove or thread formed on its surface is referred as the screw. Its main uses are as a threaded fastener used to hold objects together, and as a simple machine that is used to translate torque into linear force.

Washers - This is a thin plate with a hole which is normally installed to distribute the load of threaded fastener. Some of the major areas of their usage is spacer, spring, wear pad, pre load indicating device, and locking device.

Materials
Fasteners come in a large variety of materials depending upon the need of the user. The most common material incorporated to make these fasteners are steel, aluminum and copper. However, other materials like brass, nickel, monel, titanium and beryllium too are used in the manufacture of fasteners. Aluminum is the least expensive among all the metals. The selection of the most appropriate material for the fasteners depend on weight, magnetic properties, stresses, reusability, and expected life.A standard fastener which is less costly, can be altered by heat treating, cold working, or coating to meet special needs.

Applications
The scope of fasteners have widened with the oncoming of various technology. Most common mechanical fastener - screws, nails and pin are today ubiquitous from electric line insulators to canning jars. The grommets fasteners on the other hand are a great hit in shielding electrical wires and cords. Riveting fasteners might be believed to have become obsolete as today the application of these fasteners is confined only to areas where light weight and high strength are critical,such as in an aircraft.