Structural Rivets
Structural Blind Rivets are designed to fix elements where a high resistance to both tensile and shear strengths are required
Rivet Body
Aluminium – Lightweight with good corrosion resistance.
Steel – Stronger than Aluminium with a “flash” coating of Zinc. Low corrosion resistance.
Stainless Steel A2 – Good Strength and excellent corrosion resistance.
Stainless Steel A4 – Good Strength and increased corrosion resistance
Copper – Relatively soft. Excellent corrosion resistance and conductivity.
Monel – The strongest blind rivet material with excellent corrosion resistance and conductivity. Also excellent high temperature suitability.
Structural Blind Rivets
Structural Rivets exceptionally strong once set. The high strength is as a result of the mechanically locked stem. The locking occurs during the riveting process when the mandrel has traveled the full length of the rivet body. The strength comes from the mandrel being locked in place and completely filling the space along the shear plane from the primary through to the secondary side of the head.
When set properly, this results in a flush break, where the mandrel is broken nearly even with the head. Structural Rivets are primarily used in the transportation industries like Truck, Trailer, RV and Locomotive, however it is often used commercially as well.
GO-LOCK
The GO-LOCK rivets offer high strength, extensive grip range, and excellent clamp-up force.
This system provides a mechanical lock that delivers 100% mandrel retention. The mandrel also fills the body of the rivet to give greater shear strength.
Now also available.
Reinforced structural rivet GO-LOCK of large diameter – Ø 9.8 mm
Watch Installation video below.
GO-BULB/GO-INOX
High strength steel break-stem fasteners with excellent bulbing tail formation. Ideal for thin sheet materials.
The Go-Bulb also has the advantage of good hole fill compensating for irregular, oversized, or misaligned holes.
Watch installation video below.
H-LOCK Structural Rivet
Characteristics
• suitable for high loads
• expands under the closing head to give more grip
• the mandrel head is held captive within rivet body (mechanical mandrel locking)
• the riveting is splash proof
• high shearing and tensile forces
• extremely suitable for thin sheet material.
Material USAGE GUIDE.
Galvanic Corrosion • When dissimilar metals come into contact in the presence of an electrolyte, a galvanic action occurs which corrodes one metal at a faster rate and the other more slowly. This phenomenon can cause major riveted joint failures and care must be taken to avoid the occurrence. The following table is a guide.
| METAL JOINED | |||||
| RIVET MATERIAL↓ | Aluminium | Coated Steel | Stainless Steel | Copper | Brass |
| Aluminium | YES | CARE | NO | NO | NO |
| Coated Steel | NO | YES | NO | NO | NO |
| Stainless Steel | CARE | CARE | YES | YES | YES |
| Copper | NO | NO | YES | YES | YES |
| Monel | NO | NO | YES | YES | YES |
| YES | Compatible | ||||
| NO | Incompatible – Avoid contact with each other | ||||
| CARE | Use with care. Painting metals will help | ||||
Hence,
1) Select materials that are as close together as possible in the Galvanic Series Chart
2) Provide a barrier between the two metals, such as paint, non-metallic washer or gaskets
3) Design the fastener as the cathode so the cathodic area is small as compared to the anodic area
4) Use a metallic finish on the fastener that is close on the chart to the mating material