Use of pop-rivets?

[M.Wong]

Sorry I should have elaborated. My team uses 1/16" thick 1"x1" aluminum tubing in most of our applications (we haven't quite reached a point where we use sheet metal). Our style of robot building works well with bolts, and I don't really see us changing (unless we start using sheet metal more extensively).

[IzzieB]

They're really useful for little things like spacers, lexan, etc.

[Jamie Kalb]

Originally Posted by IzzieB

They're really useful for little things like spacers, lexan, etc.

What kind of spacer would you secure with a rivet?

[DonRotolo]

We use pop rivets of varying sizes everywhere. Only items which must use a bolt (such as an axle) get screw threads, everything else is a rivet.

[IzzieB]

Originally Posted by Jamie Kalb

What kind of spacer would you secure with a rivet?

They were really thin lexan ones on the base--they weren't secured solely with rivets. Rivets simply helped in holding down the middle.

[rahilm]

Originally Posted by M.Wong

Sorry I should have elaborated. My team uses 1/16" thick 1"x1" aluminum tubing in most of our applications (we haven't quite reached a point where we use sheet metal). Our style of robot building works well with bolts, and I don't really see us changing (unless we start using sheet metal more extensively).

We didn't use rivets much this year, but that was almost our entire hardware for Lunacy. Our robot that year was pretty much just 1/8" and 1/16" stock metals (angle, tube, etc.) and they work really well. Replacing them (which we rarely had to do) was pretty quick and easy.

[jamie_1930]

In the past two years the only reason we've used pop rivets for is to rivet strips of wegetop to aluminum tube, to make rollers

[Dave McLaughlin]

My old team used them in 2009 for mounting our bumpers and to build a camera mount/Lexan cover support. You can see them here, in the CAD model from that year.

[ihaveamustache]

My team uses rivets almost exclusively on our robot. I can't think of any system on the 'bot in which you wouldn't find a single rivet.

[BrendanB]

This year we did not have a lot as we used 80-20 which required special fasteners, but in previous years they were used in most of the robot. They are nice because they are light, but use too many of a large size and you might as well use a bolt and they need to be drilled out. Overall they are better than bolts and highly recommend them on most parts unless you want a strong connection that will not break and stay in place under extreme forces.

[Dkt01]

1756 used a lot of them this year for our paneling. They were a pain, though. I didn't like them because they didn't hold very well, and we seemed to be replacing them frequently. They were more convenient than metal rivets most of the time.

[Siri]

This year we used long heavy-duty ones to attach our pivot plates (crab drive) and do some non-structural work on our kicker. We've grown away from using them for wheel treads in favor of Plactions. Mostly we're not shy about using them when it fits, but we don't go crazy with it.

Originally Posted by RMS11

A bit off topic, but does anybody know a good supplier for aluminum bolts? Mcmaster is the only place that sells them that I can find, but they are almost 50cents a bolt and only offer a few sizes. Just by using them on our wheels this year, they save more weight than you might think. Thanks!

I haven't found a really solid supplier. Home Depot's got some, Grainger's got a few (though cheap is probably not the word for them).

[Dale]

Does anyone know of a good source for prefabricated aluminum L brackets and gussets drilled out for a 3/16" rivet? Sure we can continue to make them ourselves and, I guess with a jig, it would go pretty fast. If they were off the shelf somewhere though that would be temping.

[Tom Bishop]

A bit off topic, but does anybody know a good supplier for aluminum bolts? Mcmaster is the only place that sells them that I can find, but they are almost 50cents a bolt and only offer a few sizes. Just by using them on our wheels this year, they save more weight than you might think. Thanks!

Mcmaster has a good supply of 1/4" 20 hex bolts that are not unreasonable. Lengths range from 1/2" to at least 4" and you can get longer but they won't be fully threaded. Once you go over that size they get a bit pricey, but 1/4" is plenty big for most fastening applications. That's our standard size bolt.

[Bob Steele]

Originally Posted by Tom Bishop

A bit off topic, but does anybody know a good supplier for aluminum bolts? Mcmaster is the only place that sells them that I can find, but they are almost 50cents a bolt and only offer a few sizes. Just by using them on our wheels this year, they save more weight than you might think. Thanks!

Mcmaster has a good supply of 1/4" 20 hex bolts that are not unreasonable. Lengths range from 1/2" to at least 4" and you can get longer but they won't be fully threaded. Once you go over that size they get a bit pricey, but 1/4" is plenty big for most fastening applications. That's our standard size bolt.

i don't mean to sound critical but why would you want to use an aluminum bolt?
Aluminum isn't terribly good in shear....

Why not just drop down to a smaller size bolt if you want to reduce weight? #10 bolts are just a little over 1/2 the weight of 1/4 bolt... aluminum bolts in the same sizes would be about 33% of the weight of steel....but would have substantially less strength than the #10 steel bolts

We rarely use an 1/4 X 20 bolts on our robot... the biggest size we use is 10-24..

compare the weight of a 1/4 -20 bolt and a 10-24 bolt... you might find that that the 10-24 is a better alternative.

Compare the Clamp load of a 1/4# grade 8 bolt to a #10 grade 8 bolt and you will find that the #10 has about the 1550 lbs of clamp load and and a dry assembly torque of nearly 60 in lbs...
!/4" grade 8 bolts have the same clamp load and a dry assembly torque of a little over twice that..(140 in lbs)... if you go to #10 - 32 bolts you go up to 1800 lbs in clamp load and go to nearly 70 in lbs in dry torque...


Our team uses a number of different types of fasteners... we are gradually changing over to more blind rivet applications as we transition away from weldments to sheet metal construction.

The key to the use of fasteners, in my opinion, is two fold.

One ... use the right one for the job....
Two ... try to limit the types of bolted fasteners (IE try to standardize on your robot...)

To those that are concerned with speed of removal and replacement... either powered or unpowered...

Most of the time...you only have to have access to ONE side of a connection to place or remove a blind (pop) rivet.... any bolt will require access to the other side...to remove the nut...
Of course the easier method would be to install a screw...but this requires an initial drilling and tapping operation...screws are always the easiest fasteners to remove and replace ....

I will happily race anyone to remove and replace 10 bolts vs 10 rivets...
Rivets will win hands down...and always leave a consistent torque application...

There are MANY different types of blind rivets... look into the types... review your options...
do the homework...


i have mentioned this before but it bears repeating...
Do you know what they call 1.5 million rivets flying in formation?



A Boeing 747