Articles 

Why We Should Study Fasteners

2011-02-23

Fasteners are a uniquely ignored commodity, but are used to hold almost every mechanical assembly together. Whether it is a rivet or a threaded screw/bolt, they are everywhere. They hold bridges together, secure the tallest buildings to their foundations, and even the computer this article is written on is held together by fasteners. Figure 1 shows the interior structure of a typical wing structure of an aircraft. This section contains several hundred fasteners that are both place keepers and safety critical. Figure 2 shows the front corner of a truck. Fasteners shown are designed to keep all the suspension components securely tightened. Some are rated as safety critical which means that there loss could result in loss of control of the vehicle. Generally, fasteners can be purchased in any type of retail store including service stations (gas or petrol stations) to home improvement stores. So why are they ignored, taken for granted, and not studied?