Where access from only one side can improve the efficiency of the assembly, or is a requirement due to the difficulty of reaching both sides of the application, blind rivets can represent a very good alternative. Specially designed for this purpose, they are quick and easy to install, require no special skills or sophisticated equipment and cannot be dismantled.

But how do you know which of the various blind rivets is best suited to your application ? In this article, we present the various Rivelit blind rivets and their different uses:

The standard blind rivet :

Standard rivets are versatile and provide reliable results for your everyday projects.

It’s a high-productivity solution with the assurance of carrying out the assembly function.

The peel type blind rivet :

When your project involves soft or vulnerable materials (number plates, plastic, foam, wood, rubber, fibreglass, polyester), we recommend using pop rivets. During riveting, the body of Rivelit pop rivets opens in 4 parts and the head of the shank is ejected. Thanks to this umbrella-shaped opening with 4 branches, split rivets ensure very good seating, excellent distribution of the clamping load and preserve the integrity of the substrate.

The tri-fold blind rivet :

Just like split rivets, petal or star rivets can be used to crimp soft or vulnerable materials (plastic, foam, wood, rubber, fibreglass) thanks to their 3-point petal-shaped opening, which ensures very good grip, excellent distribution of the clamping load and preserves the integrity of the substrate.

The main difference between the two types of rivet is that once set, the head of the nail remains enclosed in the body, so there is no risk of noise, which can be essential in sectors such as the automotive industry, and its prongs are not sharp.

The grooved blind rivet :

Often used in furniture and construction to assemble a metal part to wood or wood-like materials, the fluted rivet is a rivet whose body is fluted to maximise its grip. The grooves enable the rivet to grip the walls of the parts to be joined, making it more resistant to vibration and tearing. As it does not require a through hole, it can be fitted into blind holes.

The multi-grip blind rivet :

Multi-grip rivets have the advantage of being able to adapt to different thicknesses to be assembled. They are therefore the ideal way of reducing the number of rivet references to be kept in stock, and of assembling parts with unsuitable holes (wrong dimensions). They also reduce the number of operating errors, as they do not require as precise a drilling diameter as other types of blind rivet. Finally, once riveting has been carried out, the body of the rivet has swollen into the wall of the hole in the parts, and the head of the nail is enclosed by the deformed body, making the rivet impervious to water run-off and providing good resistance to vibration. However, this type of rivet has a slightly lower mechanical strength than the standard rivet.

The watertight blind rivet :

The special feature of watertight rivets is that the head of the nail is enclosed inside the body, the rivet is called a closed barrel.

They are therefore used to rivet assemblies that need to be watertight, airtight or dusttight.

This is provided that the dimensions of the rivet housing are scrupulously respected.

Now that you have a better idea of the different characteristics of Rivelit blind rivets, all that remains is to determine the nail material you want, depending on the application, finish and size of the rivet. We’ll be sharing an article on this last point soon.

Of course, our Rivelit product advisors will be happy to answer any questions you may have.