Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me
We've never had rivets come loose, except for 5/32nd rivets installed on areas exposed to robot impacts. We use a mixture of 3/16th aluminum and 3/16th "high strength" aluminum rivets on our robots. Ensuring proper installation (properly drilled holes, rivets as flush with the plate as possible, installation of several rivets per part) is a big help, and creates a joint that is both more rigid and lighter than some bolted joints can be.
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I assume your "high strength" rivets are the interlock style like
these from McMaster. We use 5/32 most places, and those 3/16 where we want a bit more strength. The nice thing about those high strength ones is they'll provide a bit of pull-up and clamping when you set them. The hardest thing to get through to my students and other mentors was that rivets won't always clamp a joint together for you, and a gap between the two surfaces is a common cause for joints loosening.