If someone comes to me and tells me that he has never used rivets, I bet he is lying! Because today, rivets have so much interwoven to our daily lives that no one is unknown of it! However there may be a possibility that even you have used it, you may be unaware of its usage, types and working system. If this is the case with you, don’t worry, we are here to help you. First of all let’s get into know what is a rivet.
A rivet is a small metal tool or a type of fasteners with some common traits. Rivet is pre-shaped at one end and has other end reshaped when it is put into use. It has a shaft that passes via the materials when it is put to use. A smooth shaft of it passes through the materials being bonded. It is used to join two or more materials together to form a joint that is stronger and tighter than the joint created by screw of the same diameter.
Uses of Rivets
There are many big industrial uses of Rivets. Rivets are used in many industries worldwide. For example, Rivets are used to make watertight hulls on ships, high-pressure tanks for steam boilers and refineries, gussets for bridges, airtight skins on airplanes. Rivets are even used to bind heavy fabrics like denim that could not be easily sewn.
Most Common type of Rivets
There are many types of of Rivets found around the world. But in all types there is a commonly found, most used type i.e. Hot Iron rivets. The best known type of rivet, the hot rivet, provides the utmost strongest joints. In this process, glowing hot rivets are fed through precisely-drilled holes where the unformed end is hammered to close the joint. As the rivet cools, it contracts and squeezes the joint tightly together.
Rivets Working
Have you ever tried to know how rivets work? If no, let’s read ahead! The squeeze exerted by the rivet is spread across the joint, increasing the friction between the joints and making them less likely to move. All rivets, hot or cold, exert some lasting pressure on the joints they form.
Strongest Joints, better than bolts
Because the shaft of a rivet is smooth, it offers strongest joints between objects and hence is a better option against the bolts.
Supporting Tools
There are few supporting or assisting tools that you can use to insert the rivets into the objects. They are Rivet Guns and Rivet Tools.