Steel Rivet Nuts | RIVNUTS®
Steel Rivet Nuts are internally threaded fasteners manufactured from regular steel. These rivet nuts are known for their strength and reliability making them suitable for applications requiring sturdy connections.
Common Materials for Steel Rivet Nuts
1008 Steel (8% carbon) or 1010 Steel (10% carbon) is used 99% of the time when making a Steel Rivet Nut. This is a low-carbon cold-rolled steel that offers great manufacturability and is good formability when the rivet nut material moves as it is upset/installed into the application.
Many times, the steel is designated as 1008/1010 due to there being very little practical difference between the two steels and they might be considered interchangeable in nature when it comes to the manufacture and use of rivet nuts.
Weight
Steel Rivet Nuts are heavier compared to aluminum and lighter than stainless steel, but they offer a nice mix of weight, strength, and durability.
Magnetism
Steel Rivet Nuts are magnetic, which may be beneficial or important to consider depending on your application.
Corrosion Resistance
Because raw steel is prone to corrosion, Steel Rivet Nuts typically receive a zinc clear or zinc yellow coating for enhanced resistance. which creates good corrosion resistance for indoor applications or outdoor applications that don’t experience severe weather conditions. Many zinc coatings are plated per ASTM B633. Then, they are tested via the ASTM B117 salt spray test and typically, this offers about 50 to 200 hours to red rust.
Zinc nickel coating is a specialty option too, with certain zinc nickel coatings offering up to and over 1,000 hours to red rust per ASTM B117 salt spray test, WOW! Please note any specific corrosion resistance requirements to your salesperson.
Use Cases of Steel Rivet Nuts
Steel Rivet Nuts are an excellent alternative to Stainless-Steel RIVNUTS® when you need strength without the high cost. They are ideal for:
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Construction equipment, where they fasten load-bearing components and withstand high vibrations.
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Oil and gas applications, where equipment must endure extreme conditions over time.
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Automotive assembly, where strong, stable fasteners must resist frequent mechanical stress.
Additionally, you can enhance sealing by adding a waterproof rubber seal or O-ring under the rivet nut head.
Manufacturing Process
Manufacturers begin the process by feeding raw steel in wire form. The wire form is fed into a cold header and comes off of a coil. The wire is then mashed by the cold header into a rivet nut shape. Sometimes the rivet nut can be fully finished by the cold header, but if not, it is finished on a machining center that holds the tight dimensional tolerances that are demanded by specific applications (per NAS1329 or NAS1330 aerospace specifications).
Nobility of Steel
Be cautious when mixing materials due to their different noble properties. Galvanic corrosion may come into play when an aluminum material, for example, is mixed with steel or stainless-steel. Aluminum and Steel are less noble, and Stainless-Steel is more noble. This is why aluminum and steel tend to pair better together. Always choose a rivet nut material that matches your application but know there are times where they might be able to be mixed with lower risk. To enhance their corrosion resistance, steel rivet nuts are often coated with zinc or zinc-nickel alloys. These coatings provide a barrier against moisture and chemicals, significantly extending the lifespan of the fastener in outdoor or corrosive environments. The choice of coating depends on the specific application requirements, with zinc-nickel coatings offering superior protection against red rust formation, making them ideal for applications exposed to harsh weather conditions or saline environments.
This is a Reference Only guide to nobility. For exact noble performance requirements, users must complete testing of their exact application.
Steel Rivet Nuts or RIVNUTS® | Applications | Industries
Steel Rivet Nuts are valued for their high strength and durability, making them suitable for applications where load-bearing capacity and long-term reliability are critical. The hardness feature of steel ensures that these fasteners maintain their structural performance even under heavy loads or repeated use. By selecting the appropriate thread size and head configuration, engineers can maximize the functionality of steel rivet nuts in diverse industrial settings, ensuring they meet the strict safety and operational standards.
Rivet Nut USA™, a division of Cardinal Components, Inc., stocks standard/unified and metric steel rivet nuts in a selection of styles and an assortment of diameters and lengths. Rivet nuts offer multiple head flange configurations.
Rivet Nut Head Flange Types:
Rivet Nut Body Types:
Rivet Nut End Styles:
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- Open-End
- Closed-End (provide better waterproofing as water is less likely to seep through the rivet nut into the backside/inside of the application.)
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Rivet Nut USA™ has you covered for ALL of your fastening requirements.
From the one-off small usage applications to high volume manufacturing/production scale quantities, Rivet Nut USA™ has the knowledge and engineering expertise to help you select the right fastener and installation tooling for your application.
Industries that Use Steel RIVNUTS® | Rivet Nuts in Production
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- Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing
- Automotive / Cargo Van Manufacturing
- Construction Equipment Manufacturing
- Energy / Solar Equipment Manufacturing
- Marine Equipment Manufacturing
- Medical Equipment Manufacturing
- Military Equipment Manufacturing
- Oil, Gas & Chemical Equipment Manufacturing
- Over-the-Road (OTR) Equipment Manufacturing
- Plane | Plane Equipment Manufacturing
- Restaurant Equipment Manufacturing
- Window Manufacturing
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AND MANY MORE! Steel Rivet Nuts and RIVNUTS® come in a wide variety of shapes, lengths and head types to match any fastening job out there.
Rivet Nut Thread Size Options
Rivet Nut USA stocks various thread sizes for all applications.
Metric thread sizes:
M3 | M4 | M5 | M6 | M8 | M10 | M12
Standard/Unified thread sizes:
4-40 (440) | 6-32 (632) | 8-32 (832) | 10-32 (1032) | 10-24 (1024) | 1/4-20 (2520) |
5/16-18 (3118) | 3/8-16 (3716) | 3/8-24 (3724) | 1/2-12 (5013) | 1/2-50 (5020)
Contact Rivet Nut USA™ for ALL your Steel Threaded Insert Purchases
Rivet Nut USA™ is the premier distributor and supplier of steel rivet nuts (also known as threaded inserts, Nutserts® & RIVNUTS®) for industrial applications and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Our technical expertise, second-to-none customer service (we return quotes same day and answer the phone by the third ring) and ISO 9001 Quality Certification make us the go-to for all of your fastener solutions. Contact the trusted experts at Rivet Nut USA today!