It is probably not a word you’re likely to hear in, well, everyday conversations. But it is in just about anything we use: the plastic rivet fastener.
Plastic rivet fasteners have several applications. These small, seemingly unimportant items can be used in computers, appliances, furniture, electronics, construction, kid’s toys, business machines, and even recreational vehicles. There is even a plastic rivet designed for rockets. Yes, the kind you launch.
Since plastic rivets do serve a variety of applications, it only follows that there is a specific size, configuration, and style perfectly suitable for each application. And so you will find these plastic rivet fasteners in different designs. Although, perhaps to the untrained eye, they may look the same from afar, but up close they will each have particular differences.
The Pro-Lok Rivet, for example, might look similar to the two-prong pre-driven rivet. But the Pro-Lok is actually designed for applications where its appearance counts. Its smooth and over sized head is contoured and polished so it looks a bit more finished than the two-prong pre-driven rivet.
Some plastic rivet fasteners may be installed by hand or by machine. The one-piece fastener featuring a pre-driven pin is one such rivet. The one-piece fastener is used for any applications that call for a front mount, removable (and reusable) push-type plastic rivet.
Other brands that make the same one-piece fastener design theirs to be used for securing electronic components to circuit boards, finger guards to cooling fans, and so on.
Some plastic rivet fasteners can secure just about any material. R-Lok’s plastic expansion rivet is one such example. Its design enables it to be used for a wide range of applications. But this rivet is particularly effective for urethane, rubber, padded fabrics, and other soft materials.
Another type of rivet that can work with many applications is the three- and four-prong non-driven rivet. This plastic rivet can come in different sizes and styles. It can also take on a variety of materials and panel thicknesses.
The other types of plastic rivet fasteners include: the ratchet rivets, which are intended for rigid and compressible materials; the R-Tite rivet, which features a two-piece R-Tite design and allows for a controlled grip range; the snap rivets, which perfectly connect flat panels together, and these rivets are also used where a finished head is required on both sides.
Computers. Toys. Business machines. RVs. Rockets! Plastic rivet fasteners. Such tiny little things — such grand applications.