Fasteners are the pervasive and unseen force holding our industrial world together. Only gravity can claim a greater responsibility for keeping things together. When one speaks of fasteners, one refers to all manner of screws, bolts, anchors, Velcro, threaded bars, and so on. Fasteners hold two or more objects in place, with the aim of allowing zero movement. A fastener joins two things as one. You might sometimes wonder: why don’t people just build things as one piece in the first place? Why use the middleman of fasteners? The answer is that not everything is small enough to erect, ship, or otherwise manipulate. Without fasteners, there would be no skyscrapers. There would be no cars. There would be no Velcro tennis shoes or quick-release stage costumes.
There are many different types of fasteners, made of varying materials. The most recognizable fastener is the screw. As everyone knows, it is comprised of a head, a shank, and threads for both guiding the screw into place and for keeping it in there. The head can take many forms, including those that allow the screw to be removed after it has been inserted, and those that prevent people from removing the screws at all. The lengths, widths, and pitches of the threads all vary. (The pitch is the angle at which the thread is set; low pitches allow for easier and more gradual insertions, while high pitches are better suited to metalwork.)
Most fasteners are made of metal, but there are many instances for which plastic screws will do the trick, or when are just as powerful a material to replace a metal screw. Plastic fasteners are non-conductive, and, in many cases, heat-resistant.
Whatever kind of fastener you need, there is one out there for every kind of job imaginable. Just think: humans are tool users, and fasteners are arguably one of the single most vital tools in history. If there were no fasteners, you probably wouldn’t be alive today.
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Metal Fasteners: An Overview
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Metric fasteners are fasteners that are manufactured and labeled according to a worldwide standard of measurement. That worldwide standard is set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. That worldwide standard is based on the metric system. There are...
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A Look at Deck Fasteners
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Deck fasteners are screws especially manufactured to fasten the many soft, thin planks of a wood en deck in place. Wooden decks must be able to withstand many different kinds of weather and corrosion, and so deck fasteners must be able to stand up to...
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A Look at Industrial Fasteners
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Industrial fasteners are used in aerospace, military, construction, and other industrial applications. These are extremely strong, extremely weather resistant, and almost completely corrosion- and rust-proof. They are made from a variety of metals, including stainless steel, chromium, and carbon. Industrial fasteners can take many forms,...
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The Benefits of Plastic Fasteners
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Plastic fasteners are used where there are conditions in which metal will just not do. Plastic fasteners can be chemical-resistant, corrosion-resistant, very strong, heat-resistant, non-conductive, impervious to UV light, and very lightweight. The applications are endless. Plastic fasteners can be just as strong, and keep...
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The Advantages of Hook Loop Fasteners
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Hook-loop fasteners are a two-faced fastening system whereby one face is covered in tiny nylon fibers with little hooks on the ends of them, and the other face is covered in tiny nylon loops. When the two faces are pressed together, some of the hooks...
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Benefits of Concrete Fasteners
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A concrete fastener is a screw, bolt system, or other fastening technique, designed to attach any non-structural object to a section of concrete. The concrete can be in the ground, or it can be part of a wall or other standing structure. There are an...
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The Benefits of Stainless Steel Fasteners
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Stainless steel fasteners are made of steel that has been mixed with at least a ten percent compound of chromium, and possibly other metals, so that the steel doesn’t rust or corrode. This makes stainless steel fasteners great for outdoor conditions, where there is a...
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Conveyor Screws
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The Screw Conveyor was invented in ancient Greece. It was originally used for lifting water. The credit for the invention is attributed to Archimedes. Even today, the basic design concept of the Conveyor Screw remains more or less the same except that power has replaced...
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Engine-Driven Air Compressors: An Overview
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Air compressors are typically run on either electricity or natural gas. In either case, it is often suggested that fuel and utility costs can be quite hefty. In response to the rising costs of energy, many industries have begun seeking more cost effective ways to...
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How to Fix a Broken Cabinet
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Cabinets are meant to last for decades. However, there are circumstances that may ruin them long before they are meant to deteriorate. Certain accidents, for example, may greatly damage various parts of the cabinet. Now, when your cabinet gets broken, you are provided with two...