How To Get The Most Out Of Self-Clinching Fasteners

When manufacturing machinery or any other items that are likely to bear a lot of weight, there are a number of things that you need to consider when choosing the fasteners. One of these is the type of fasteners you choose. When you are shopping for Inconel hex lag bolts or nitronic 50 hex tap bolts, it’s also wise to remember that you can also use self-clinching fasteners for this application. As the name suggests, self-clinching fasteners are those that are designed to sustain high torque loads without any risk of threads becoming loose, or the fastener falling out. Due to their design and application, the self-clinching fasteners end up being part of the material that they are being fastened into. Despite their slightly more technical installation, they are still very cheap and easy to install.

Do you need special equipment?

Self-clinching fasteners tend to merge with the material they are being used to fasten. For this reason, most people think that they need special equipment in order to put them in place. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Any type of press can be used to install such fasteners, and you don’t need to spend a large amount of money to set up the infrastructure for self-clinching fastener use. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that the pressing machine has to provide a force that can be adjusted. Using a hammer to install the will not work since they deliver a force that is too swift.

 

What are the benefits?

In addition to the low cost, the use of self-clinching fasteners is also associated with very strong bonding. The fact that the fastener molds into the material means that its likely to stay in place for a much longer time compared to other fasteners.
In addition to that, this fastener type can also be used for fastening in very thin metal. This is normally tricky to do when using conventional fasteners, since most of them end up damaging the thin metal if the installation is not properly done.

What can you do to get the most out of them?

The two things that affect the quality you will get from self-clinching fasteners are the quality of the fasteners you get as well as the expertise you use in installing them. When shopping for them, it’s critical that you only deal with vendors who are known for providing high quality. This way, you can be sure that the products you will get will be of the best quality possible.
In addition to that, you should also consider training your staff in the proper use of these types of fasteners. Fortunately, the fact that they are very easy to use means that such training is not likely to be intensive.
The next time you are interested in using a fastener and want more permanent results, you should consider getting the self-clinching ones. This is a decision you are not likely to regret, particularly if you insist on using products from tried and tested manufacturers.