Riveting is a permanent cold-joining process that is widely used in the manufacturing world. It’s the best alternative and more economical than welded and glued joints.
Before the wide use of welding, riveting was the main joining method used in the construction of metal bridges, boilers (tight stress-relieved to tight strong joints), low-pressure tanks (requiring tight joints), and hoisting cranes (strong joints or stress-relieving).
The primary applications of Rivet’s joints are permanent joints used mainly for fastening sheets and shaped rolled metal. Well, in this reading, we’ll explore what rivets, riveting, and riveting joints are; their applications, diagrams, operations, and how they work. We’ll also explore the advantages and disadvantages of riveted joints.
Let’s get started!
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What are Rivets, Riveting, and Riveted Joints?
Rivets are non-threaded fasteners usually made of steel or aluminum used in joining pieces of metal to another. They comprise a preformed head and shank, which is put into the material or pieces to be joined.
Rivets are permanent mechanical fasteners with the appearance of a metal pin. They are used to join large structural members, usually sheet metals.
Rivet’s joints are carried out with a rivet pin and gun, and the operation is called riveting. Although there are types of rivet guns and pins, depending on the application.
Rivets are categorized as fasteners; their second head is formed on the free end by a variety of means that is called setting. Rivets can be made from any ductile material like carbon steel, aluminum, and brass. However, a variety of coatings are done to improve corrosion resistance.
Serious consideration needs to be made while selecting material and coating to prevent the possibility of corrosion by galvanic action. Note that a given-size rivet will not be as strong as the equivalent threaded fastener.
In its working, the rivet is placed in a drilled hole with the tail upset so that it can expand to the original shaft diameter. This will cause the rivet to be held in place.
A new head is created when pounding or pulling off the tail occurs using a rivet gun. The material is then flattened, resulting in a riveted joint. The new head of the rivet is known as the buck-tail or shop head, while the original head is called the factory head.
The head formed at each end of a rivet joint after installation supports the tension load of the application. Rivet joints are also capable of handling shear loads.
Applications of Rivet Joints
Below are the applications of rivet joints:
- Rivet’s joints are permanent joints used mainly for fastening sheets and shaped rolled metal.
- They are used in lap, abutment, and double-cover plate joints.
- They can still be used for constructing a metal bridge, hoisting cranes, boilers, and pressure tanks. But some other joining processes may serve better.
- Rivets’ joints are used to join materials that cannot be welded or heated, such as thin-walled parts made of sheet material in aircraft construction.
- It’s used in the manufacturing of bus and trolleybus bodies to create a heavily loaded joint
- In essence, rivets are widely used to join components in aircraft, boilers, ships, and boxes, as well as other enclosures.
- Rivet joints are used in traditional wooden boats, copper nails, and clinch bolts.
Rivet is widely used because it’s much cheaper to install than other joining processes. The advancement of technology has brought about the automated riveting machine, which is capable of installing more than a thousand rivets in an hour.
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Diagram of rivet Joints
Types of Rivets
Below are the various kinds of rivets:
Drive rivets: are types of rivets with short mandrels and are driven with a hammer so that the end inserted into the hole will flare.
Blind rivets: also known as hollow or pop rivets, are used when it’s impossible to access the other side of the application. These types of rivets are often used in electronics, shipbuilding, and aerospace because the process is fast and effective.
Oscar rivets: are similar to blind rivets but have splits along their hollow shaft. The shaft comes in three sets, causing the shaft to bend and flare outwards when the mandrel is drawn into the rivet. A wide surface is created when the flare is drawn, which reduces the chance of the rivet pulling.
Friction-lock rivet: has countersunk and dome shapes. They are blind rivets that are widely used in aerospace applications, and they look like an expanding bolt.
Flush rivets: are used for external surfaces as they offer good appearance and eliminate aerodynamic drag. These types of rivets have countersunk heads and a countersunk hole, which is why they are also called countersunk rivets.
Round head rivets: these are the oldest types of rivets and the most reliable kind. They are also called solid rivets due to their strength and capability.
Self-piercing rivets: are kinds of rivets that do not require drilling or punching to perform the rivet joint. They have chamfered pokes that pierce materials as they go through the top sheet of material. They do not fully pierce the bottom sheet, creating a water- or gas-tight joint.
Structural steel rivets: are types of rivets used mostly on structural steels, although they have been replaced by high-strength bolts.
Button head rivets: Button head types of rivets are used to join parts where projecting heat does not disturb or obstruct the working of the application. They are suitable for fixed and close joints because of the close clamping effect they offer.
Countersunk-head rivets: The countersunk-head rivets are used to join parts whose surfaces are uneven by projecting rivet heads. They are not suitable for highly stressed connections. Their tapered head enters the joint, showing their surfaces.
Oval head countersunk rivets: The overhead types of countersunk rivets are used to join parts with rough and uneven surfaces. In such an application, the requirement for a high-quality surface is excluded because an uneven surface will be achieved.
Boiler construction rivet: Boiler construction rivets consist of button head rivets with conical shanks. This makes it easy to accurately get into unaligned boreholes. This rivet is often used in the construction of boilers and pressure vessels. Close and fixed connections are achieved when the plate edges and rivet heads undergo caulking.
Explosive rivets: Explosive types of rivets are used in applications where the joining process can be accessed from one side. These include aircraft manufacture of light metal construction. The rivets are electrically ignited in the shank, which will explode and widen it.
Belt rivet: A belt rivet is used for connecting soft materials like leather, felt, rubber, etc.
Pin: Pins are used in precision mechanics as their projecting end acts like the shank of a rivet.
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Types of Riveted Joints
Below are the types of riveted joints:
- Lap joint: in a lap joint, the working plates overlapped each other, and the rivets were inserted into the overlapped region.
- Butt joint: butt joints are types of riveting where the plates to be joined are kept in alignment, butting or touching without overlapping. An external plate is also used to cover one side or both sides of the main plate, which is also riveted with the main plate. This joint can cost much, but some applications require it.
- Single strap butt joints: in this type of butt joint, only one cover plate is placed on the main plate.
- Double strapped butt joint: two cover plates are used in this type, each one on both sides of the joint.
- Single riveted joint: there is only one row in a lap joint. A butt joint can also have one row of rivets on each plate.
- Double riveted joint: in double riveted joints two rows of rivets are used in a lap joint or two rows of rivets are used in each main plate of butt joints.
- Chain riveted joint: in these types of joints, the rivets in the adjacent rows are opposite to each other (in the same transverse line).
- Zigzag riveted joint: in zigzag riveted joints, the rivets in adjacent rows are not in a chain arrangement.
How Do Rivets or Riveting Work?
In riveted joints, permanent joints are created with two main components: parts to be joined and the rivet itself. The parts to join are held together by the rivet pins with the head at the top and the tail at the bottom.
The mechanical fastener is designed with a plain, unthreaded shaft that enters through holes to join the parts together. The riveting is performed using a riveting gun, and it forms a head at each end, preventing the rivet from moving or being removed. The shaft helps to achieve this.
The type of rivet used will determine its ability to support shear load and how much it will resist considerable forces. Rivets function similarly to nuts and bolts, but they are not as permanent as rivets.
Just as mentioned earlier, rivets have a pre-formed head at one end, known as the factory head. The other head is formed after the insertion, which is called the shop head.
The factory head looks like the head of a bolt, while the shop head is like a nut. The nut-like head forms a temporary head at the other end. This shop head is also called a tail or rivet’s shaft. Also, the forming operation of the tail is called upsetting or buckling.
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Riveting Operations
Below is the step-by-step riveting operations:
Clamping/drilling:
Clamping and drilling are the first operations to be carried out while creating rivet joints. The plates to be joined are clamped with one another as tightly as possible to prevent space in between. It’s then drilled together to ensure there are no misaligned holes.
But if there is, it should be read by a structural reamer. Rivet holes must be drilled with a little larger diameter than the rivet shank.
Deburring/countersinking:
The next operations to be considered while creating rivet joints are deburring and countersinking. A countersinking cutter is always used to deburr the rivet holes using a 75° countersinking cutter.
Inserting/setting
This is when the rivet pin will be inserted into the borehole in the workpieces. With the blow of a hammer or rivet gun on the rivet setter, the plates are pressed together as the setter head compresses to the workpiece.
Upsetting:
Upsetting is performed in riveting operation by a couple of hammer blows accurately in the direction of the longitudinal axis until the borehole is filled up.
Performing/heading:
Performing a steady blowing or hitting around the rivet head so that a button head is created.
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Heading:
With the countersunk-head types of rivets, the rivet head can be driven into the countersinking immediately by the heading operations.
Finish forming the button closing head:
With sufficient preforming riveting operations on the closing head, the rivet header is finish-formed by the rivet header.
In essence, riveting by hand is performed in cold conditions if the steel rivet is up to about 8mm in diameter. However, thicker rivets are to be done in red-hot conditions. Non-ferrous metal rivets are also worked in cold conditions after undergoing an annealing process.
Materials become hard and brittle on all cold working of steel or non-ferrous metals, especially if the riveted joints are formed by many hammer blows. Keeping these materials as tough and elastic as possible, few and well-aimed blows will be employed when creating the joints.
Riveting/Rivet Joints Tools
Below are the different types of tools used for riveting operations:
Riveting hammer:
One of the greatest riveting tools is the hammer. Locksmith’s hammers are the ones used here, and they weigh between 50g and 200 g, while hand hammers weigh between 200g and 400g. engineers also make good use of this hammer.
Rivet setter:
A rivet setter is used for setting the set head to the workpiece and also use for pressing the plates to be riveted toward each other. the head bore is made of hard material.
Rivet header:
The header looks much like the setter but is used for a different purpose. The header is used for finish-forming the closing head of button head types of rivets after it had been pre-shaped using a hammer. The head recess is hardened and polished leaving it with a good appearance.
Rivet support (counter holder):
Rivet supports are special types of riveting tools that receive the set head of a button head rivet. It is equipped with a head recess. Some fixed rivet supports are available for clamping in a vise, and some are even designed to be adjusted.
Clamping tools:
Clamping riveting tools are also called clamp dogs, as they are used to press the plates together using their teeth. Rivet pins are performed when a round material is a clamp.
The following are the riveting tools required while performing hot rivets:
- Smith’s fire – it is used for heating the rivets.
- Rivet clamp – used for holding the hot rivets.
- Rivet tongs – is for taking the rivets out of the fire.
Mechanized riveting used the following equipment:
- Hydraulic Riveter
- Pneumatic Riveter
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Advantages of Riveted Joints
Below are the benefits of a riveted joint:
- Riveting is an inexpensive method of joining. That is, the production of a rivet is cheap.
- Both ferrous and non-ferrous metals can be joined with riveting
- Riveting can be done on non-metallic materials like wood, plastic, asbestos sheets, etc.
- Dissimilar material can be joined with rivets, e.g., joining aluminum plate with copper plate
- There is the ability to make joints regardless of the location (vertical, overhead, etc.)
- Not hazardous, as gas and fumes are not produced as in welding.
- The joining process is environmentally and user-friendly.
- Riveted joints serve well and are more reliable in applications where the joint is subjected to vibration and impact forces.
- Good fatigue resistance and high shear strength.
- It serves well on lighter applications since bolts and screws can be weightier.
- Riveted joints also possess high resistance to atmospheric and chemical corrosion.
- The thermal effect is minimal since there is no melting of metal and uneven heating and cooling. The causes little or no damage to the protective coatings of the material
- Unlike welding inspection, it’s easier to perform on riveted joints.
- Dismantling riveted joints causes less damage compared to welding or other methods.
Disadvantages of Riveted Joints
Below are the limitations of riveted joints:
- Riveting takes more labor time than welding. This is because additional operations like drilling, countersinking, etc., are required.
- The labor cost of riveting is high.
- Holes in the joint may weaken the cross-section of the plates.
- Stress concentration at the rivet holes of metal plates.
- It has more weight than welded joints due to strap plates and rivets.
- The joint is bulkier than other methods like welding and brazing.
- The projection of rivets also affects aesthetic appearance.
- Typically, riveted joints do not make tight or leak-proof joints unless hot riveting is done or sealant along with the rivet, which will cost more.
- The operation is noisier than welding due to the blowing sound of the hammer.
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Conclusion
Rivets and riveted joints are permanent mechanical fasteners commonly used to join metal plates or structural components. They are particularly valued for their durability, strength, and reliability in critical applications such as aircraft, bridges, and heavy machinery.
While modern welding and bolting methods have largely replaced riveting in some industries, riveted joints remain essential where vibrations, shear loads, and long-term structural integrity are key considerations.
FAQs on Rivets and Riveted Joints
What is a rivet?
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener consisting of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. Once installed, the other end is deformed to hold materials together securely.
What are riveted joints?
Riveted joints are permanent connections made by inserting and deforming rivets through aligned holes in two or more components.
What are the types of riveted joints?
- Lap Joint
- Butt Joint (with single or double cover plates)
- Single-riveted or multi-riveted joints
- Chain or zig-zag pattern
Where are riveted joints commonly used?
- Aircraft structures
- Shipbuilding
- Bridges
- Pressure vessels
- Railcars
What are the advantages of riveted joints?
- Strong and vibration-resistant
- Suitable for dissimilar metals
- Reliable in harsh environments
- No heat-affected zone like in welding
What are the limitations of riveted joints?
- Permanent (not easily disassembled)
- Labor-intensive to install
- Adds weight to structures
What materials are rivets made of?
Common materials include aluminum, steel, copper, brass, and stainless steel, selected based on the material being joined and the load requirements.