Metric press fit fasteners for alloy sheet?

[julianf]

I'll post a photo later, but those things you get inserted in to sheet, so as you can screw somthing on the other side.

One side generally looks like a flush hex, and the other side has the thread...

Is the machinery to put them in (as a production job, not just one part with a hammer) big money, or...?

I've got no real idea how they're done at all, but someone is asking me to quote on a job that, irritatingly, requires a couple. The routing and the print I can do, no problems, but the inserts might loose me the job, unless I can outsource, or buy the kit to do them?

 

[hotponyshoes]

Hex hank bushes.

If it's just a couple you can set them with a home made tool,

You want a bolt the same tread as the Bush,
Run a nut up the bolt, put some grease on a washer and put the greased side against the nut, put the Bush in the sheet, run the bolt through the bush and unwind the nut holding the top of the bolt still.

Takes a bit of work for the bigger ones!

Other way is pop them through and run the tig over the flange to weld them in if the material suits.

If you can clamp something substantial across the back of them you can just rivit them over with a ball-pein hammer. Countersinking the outer face of the hole and you can get them flush

 

[ukracer]

Hex hank bushes.

If it's just a couple you can set them with a home made tool,

You want a bolt the same tread as the Bush,
Run a nut up the bolt, put some grease on a washer and put the greased side against the nut, put the Bush in the sheet, run the bolt through the bush and unwind the nut holding the top of the bolt still.

Takes a bit of work for the bigger ones!

Other way is pop them through and run the tig over the flange to weld them in if the material suits.

If you can clamp something substantial across the back of them you can just rivit them over with a ball-pein hammer. Countersinking the outer face of the hole and you can get them flush

 

[julianf]

Its more than a couple -

Ill need to look over the details again, but i think it aprox 100 parts, and i think each has 3 or 4 fasteners. So probably 3 or 400.

The parts are going to a market where cosmetics are fussed over, so they kind of need to look like theyve been done on whatever is supposed to do them (even if there ugly!)

I dont mind spending a few hundred on a, for example, air tool (?) to do them, but not a few thousand.

Ive just found a photo of the part - ive hacked out the company logo, but it looks like there are actually 5 or 6 of them, and i think they want about 100-off the part. So 4 or 500 inserts... More than i want to do with a hammer.

As i say, i dont mind spending out on a tool, even a hand tool, so long as its self / air powered and repeatable. Or if i can do somthing with, say, and impact driver screwing stuff together - i just cant face doing that sort of number by man power!

 

[hotponyshoes]

That's rivet nuts. (Also called rivnuts)
Can be done in the same way with a bolt/nut.
Tools for them are a lot cheaper than the hank Bush tools..

You can also get rivnuts in alloy, couple of tacks on the back side might do the job

 

[hotponyshoes]

Hand tool from about £20
Air from about £100

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you don't want to spend that on an air version, buy a high tensile bolt in the right size, get a thrust bearing to fit it.
Just screw the bolt in using a cordless drill with a clutch on it.
You will need a few trial runs to get the clutch set up correctly

 

[julianf]

So long as the job pays for the tool, I have no issue just buying the thing that makes for a professional looking finish.

Now that I know what I'm after, I think the next stop will be YouTube, to get an idea of what's involved.

If you have any bookmarked air tools, can you link me in to them, or I can see if I can't find one myself?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[julianf]

Right, so I've been on YouTube -

The things around the IEC power inlet look like rivnuts, but the hex things look like somthing else?

The hexagonals are flush with the outside of the panel, but, on the inside, have threaded stand-offs.

Are these also a different type of "blind" rivnut?

 

[hotponyshoes]

Probably "hexagon shank rivet nuts"
If I had 500 odd of them to do I would probably stretch the budget to this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Rivet-Nu...et+nut+air&dpPl=1&dpID=41MgVpFuRXL&ref=plSrch

Once the depth adjustment is set it's pretty easy to use, screw the rivet onto the end, push it in the hole, pull the trigger, wind the knob on the back to unscrew the tool from the set rivet.

Or, if you need more speed
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NEWTRY-Pne...X236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=rivet+nut+air

You can find both of these a fair bit cheaper on eBay direct from USA or china