FASTENERS

In discussing fasteners or connectors, we will make a distinction between

permanent fasteners, such as rivets and weldments, and detachable fasteners,
such as screws, bolts, cotter pins and so on.
PERMANENT FASTENERS. A RIVET. A rivet may be described as a cylindrical body,
known as the shank, with a rounded end called the head. When used to join two
plates together, the rivet is heated to a red glow, and the shank is placend in the
hole that has been made in the plates. If the rivet is heated before being placed
in the hole, it is known as a hot-driven rivet, whereas if it is not heated, it is
known as a cold-driven rivet. The preformed head is supported, while a hammer
or some other means of applying pressure is used to form the shank into another
head. Upon completion of this operation, the rivet will have two heads and look
something like the one shown in Fig. 13-1. Thus, the purpose of the rivet is to join
two plates together while ensuring proper strenght and tightness. The holes in
the plates are either punched or drilled. Rivets are used in many applications,
such as for boilers, buildings, bridges, ships and so on. Because of the danger to
human life that could resoult from a failure of such applications, the designers of
riveted connections are rigourously governed by construction codes.
Lap and Butt Joints. Axially loaded riveted joints are of two types, lap joints and
butt joints. A comparison of these two figures make clear why the joints are
called lap and butt joints. In a lap joint the two plates to be joined overlap each
other, whereas in a butt joint, the two plates to be joined (the main plates) butt
against each other.
The most efficient joint possible would be one which will be as strong in tension,
shear, and bearing as the original plate to be joined is in tension. This can never
be achieved, because there must be at least one rivet hole in the plate, and the
joint's allowable load in tension will thus always be less than the strenght of the
plate with no holes.
DETACHABLE FASTENERS. SCREW FASTENERS. Since most machine parts that
require connections must usually be made in such a way that they can easily be
disassembled as well as assembled, nonpermanent fasteners or so-called
detachable fasteners are required. Screws and bolts are examples of theese. The
only difference between a screw and a bolt is that the bolt needs a nut in order to
be used as a fastener, whereas a screw fits into a threaded hole.
Bolts. Trought bolts are the most satisfactory form of screw fastenings, since they
can be easily renewed when broken or when the threads strips. A stud bolt (or a
stud) has threads on both ends and is particularly useful in applications where a
plate is to be bolted to a larger part and a trought bolt cannot be used.
SCREWS. Sems are are preassembled fasteners that eliminate the need for hand
assembling of screws and washers. Set screws are a type of semipermanent
fasteners used to prevent relative motion between sliding surfaces. In general,
there are useful in low torque applications involving rotary motion. Set screws are
made in variety of heads and points.
To prevent nuts from working loose, many types of special washers, pins and nuts
are used as locking devices. Some of the most common locking devices are lock
nuts, split pins, spring washers, etc.

The pitch and the Lead. The pitch is the axial distance between corresponding
points on adjacent threads and is equal to the reciprocal of the number of threads
per inch. The lead is the distance a screw moves axially during 1 revolution of the
screw. The lead of a single threaded screw is equal to its pitch, a double threade
scrw has a lead equal to twice its pitch, a triple threaded screw has a lead 3
times its pitch, and so on.