Pop rivets provide a number of key benefits, including easing line-side product control and reducing inventory. They can used in a broad array of applications that have relatively low load bearing requirements. Some of the rivets available on the market are well suited to applications that require tight sealing of water or pressure. Units that are designed with high pull-up capability have the capacity to counteract air gaps, which may be present prior to assembly.
On installation, the rivet’s tail is bucked or upset, thus allowing the unit to expand almost twice the original shaft diameter. As a result, it becomes easier to hold the rivet in place. The pounding action creates a new head on one end as the tail is smashed flatter. In the end, the rivet’s shape forms a dumbbell appearance. Technically, the bucked tail is referred to as the shop head or buck-tail while the original head is called the factory head.
Each unit can support tension loads thanks to the presence of a head on both ends. However, a rivet is better suited to applications that entail shear loads whereas bolts and screws are ideal for tension applications. Some of the fastenings that use the same principle as the rivet include clinch bolts and copper nails, which work in traditional wooden boat construction.
Rivets come in a wide variety of types that are designed to meet different technical requirements, including strength, accessibility and cost factors. Customers who buy bulk pop rivets (also known blind rivets) can apply them in different applications. They are supplied with a non-locking mandrel that is inserted in the rivet’s center. However, the units are unsuitable for critical structural joints since they have the capacity to fall out owing to a variety of reasons, including vibration.
The ideal applications provide access from one side. In the early days, people only used solid rivets that require access from two sides of the assembly. On the other hand, structural pop rivets have the ability to handle tensile and shear loads. The unit’s body is made of sheet, tube or wire. Tube is widely used in applications requiring longer lengths while wire is the popular and sheet is the weakest option.
Some of the specialty blind rivets available on the market include structural rivets and trifold rivets. Structural variants can be locked internally or externally depending on specific requirements. They are designed to work in applications requiring vibration resistance and waterproof characteristics. Many companies use structural rivets in the manufacture of truck bodies.
Trifold rivets, on the other hand, can split into three different legs and are generally used in soft plastics.
