Rivets vs threaded fasteners

[shewejff]

We switched almost exclusively to rivets many years ago, and I can't imagine going back. We use primarily 3/16" and some 1/8" for non-structural areas. The only times that we really use bolts is if we have a pre-existing threaded hole (e.g., mounting a gearbox), we can't fit more than a couple rivets in a critical connection so we need the strength, or if the area is so tight that we can't get the rivet gun head in there to be able to pop it.

As some have said, drilling out rivets can be done very quickly, especially if you have a drill with a 3/16" bit at the ready. The big disadvantage is the shavings. Whenever we need to drill out a rivet, we have to cover up the electronics and be careful to take the coverings off nicely. This is a minor nuisance.

People complain about rivets loosening up, but we tended to have the opposite issue. Students almost never tighten bolts enough. We would always have to make bolts "mentor tight". One of the mentors (usually me) would come over and give the wrench another quarter to half turn after the student was done. Otherwise bolts would slowly loosen over the competitions. We very rarely have any issues with rivets loosening. Plus, if the rivet is popped, you know that it's the right pretension. I don't have to go over and tighten it a little more.

There are some other advantages. Rivet heads are pretty small compared to a typical socket head (and even compared to a button or low-profile head). Rivets can be put in blind. I don't have to worry about how to get the wrench on the back side. That's huge when planning your design.

The only real disadvantage to the rivets that we have come across is the difficulty of popping the 3/16" rivets. We have a lot of younger students and girls on the team. It can be difficult with a standard rivet gun. We have a huge massive rivet gun and a pneumatic rivet gun which both make it a lot easier, but the heads are a little bigger so it's hard to get in tight spaces.