Rivets

Fixaball sells all lengths dome, flang, large flange and countersunk, aluminium rivets.

Blind rivets, commonly referred to as "pop" rivets (POP is the brand name of the original manufacturer, now owned by Stanley Engineered Fastening, a division of Stanley Black & Decker) are tubular and are supplied with a mandrel through the center. The rivet assembly is inserted into a hole drilled through the parts to be joined and a specially designed tool is used to draw the mandrel into the rivet. This expands the blind end of the rivet and then the mandrel snaps off. These types of blind rivets have non-locking mandrels and are sometimes avoided for critical structural joints because the mandrels may fall out, due to vibration or other reasons, leaving a hollow rivet that has a lower load-carrying capability than solid rivets. Furthermore, because of the mandrel they are more prone to failure from corrosion and vibration. Unlike solid rivets, blind rivets can be inserted and fully installed in a joint from only one side of a part or structure, "blind" to the opposite side.

 

Due to this feature, blind rivets are used mainly when access to the joint is available from only one side. The rivet is placed in a drilled hole and is set by pulling the mandrel head into the rivet body, expanding the rivet body and causing it to flare against the reverse side. As the head of the mandrel reaches the face of the blind side material, the pulling force is resisted, and at a predetermined force, the mandrel snaps at its break point, also called blind setting. A tight joint formed by the rivet body remains, the head of the mandrel remains encapsulated at the blind side, although variations of this are available, and the mandrel stem is ejected.