Understanding Rivet Nuts

Rivet nuts come in a wide selection of head and body styles with flat head style being the most popular in use. These provide a reliable anchoring point for almost all applications.

However, countersunk head and reduced head styles are also widely available. Reduced head style rivet nuts offer a minimal protrusion of the rivet nut head from the installation material whilst a countersunk head style can be used if you’re looking for a completely flush finish.

Body styles vary for rivet nuts, with round body rivet nuts being most common. These are found in either plain or serrated style. Serrated bodies are ideal for smaller (i.e. M3 or M4) sized rivet nuts in thin sheet materials up to 2mm where the serrations help to grip more firmly in softer materials such as aluminium. However, when set correctly plain bodied rivet nuts offer no degradation in performance over serrated bodied rivet nuts.

Half hex and full hex rivet nut bodies are also available offering high performance with the ability to resist turning. These must be installed into a hex hole which are cut into the substrate for installation.

Rivet nuts also come in two variations of end style - either open ended where the bolt can protrude through the rivet nut without obstruction, or a closed end type.  Closed end type rivet nuts are ideal if you're looking for a sealed end rivet nut, providing an effective option for the ingress of water.

If you’re looking for a fastening that provides fast installation at minimal cost a rivet nut is the ideal solution and can easily be installed by air rivet nut tooling or hand tooling.

For more information on the full range of rivet nuts we stock and supply together with the range of hand and pneumatic tools we have available, check out our website for more information or contact us directly on 0121 439 7152.