This section provides an overview for clinch nuts as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 9 clinch nut manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked clinch nut companies as of November, 2024: 1.Sherex Fastening Solutions, 2.Captive Fastener Corporation, 3.Honsel Distribution GmbH & Co..
Table of Contents
When fastening two parts with a screw, a tap may be machined on the part facing each other to tighten the screw. However, when the mating part is a thin plate, it is impossible to process a tap that can withstand sufficient tightening force. Conventionally, a welding nut has been welded to a thin plate, but this requires man-hours to clean up welding stains and remove spatter from the nut threads, and cannot be used for aluminum, stainless steel, and resin parts, which are unsuitable for welding.
The clinch nut solves this problem by replacing the tapping process by simply machining a hole of the specified diameter in a thin plate that requires a tap and press-fitting a clinch nut of the required size into the hole.
Clinch nuts are used in a wide variety of products that are constructed with sheet metal bodies and housings. These include personal computers and other home appliances, transportation equipment, including automobiles and vehicles, communication equipment, measuring instruments, and medical equipment. Applications for plastic parts where welding is not possible include clinch nuts for printed circuit boards.
Even when welding nuts can be welded, replacing them with clinch nuts is expected to reduce additional man-hours. In addition, if multiple press-fit heads are prepared, it is possible to automate the process to further reduce processing time.
The clinch nut has a continuous stepped shape with three different diameters and widths: the head part, which is the widest and largest in diameter and has a threaded section inside, and plays the role of a conventional nut; a serrated section with knurled projections on the periphery, which is smaller in diameter and narrower in width than the head part, adjacent to the head part; and a serrated section with a press-fit hole adjacent to the serrated section. The serrated part has a smaller outer diameter and narrower width than the head, and the serrated part is adjacent to the serrated part and has an outer diameter equivalent to the press-fit hole diameter, with a slight reverse taper from the tip.
When the clinch nut is press-fitted into the target sheet, the serrated and reverse-tapered portions penetrate the sheet base material, so the clinch nut must be selected such that the total width of the serrated and reverse-tapered portions is less than or equal to the thickness of the target sheet.
The clinch nut is inserted into a hole in the sheet, and the sheet is supported to prevent deformation and the clinch nut is press-fitted into the sheet by a hand press. As the press-fitting progresses, the saw-tooth protrusions plastically deform the base material of the sheet metal, and the deformed part is pushed into the gap in the reverse taper section, and the press-fitting is completed when the end face of the head step strikes the sheet metal. The deformed base plate ensures the installation strength of the clinch nut in the direction of withdrawal and rotation.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Sherex Fastening Solutions, LLC (SFS) is an American ISO 9001 and 17025 certified manufacturer of fastening solutions originally founded as a rivet and nut manufacturing division of Sherex Industries in 2004, but currently operating as a standalone company. Headquartered in Buffalo, New York, the company offers various products for attaching, joining, or reinforcing parts and components, such as wedge locking washers and robotic systems. These have applications in the aerospace and defense industries, construction, scientific research, and industrial manufacturing. SFS has manufacturing locations in Ohio and Taiwan, with additional distribution and customer support locations in Mexico, Poland, and the UK.
Captive Fastener Corporation, founded in Oakland, NJ in, in 1974 is a manufacturer of elf-clinching fasteners. The company's product portfolio includes Self-Clinching Nuts, Self-Clinching Studs, Self-Clinching Standoffs, Self-Clinching Panel Fasteners and Self-Clinching Fasteners for Stainless Steel Sheets. The company serves industries such as Oil and Gas, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Construction, and Power Generation. The company provides services such as Product Selection Guidance, Engineering Support, and Custom Manufacturing.
MF Supply is a stocking distributor for business, industry, and government. MF Supply specializes in fasteners, hardware, and safety supplies. MF Supply product categories include PPE & safety, brands and equivalents, custom made parts, dowel pins, electronic & panel hardware, inserts, metric, Mil-spec & domestic, nuts & washers, pins, precision shoulder screws, rivets & rivetnut inserts, screw driving tools, screws, self-clinching fasteners, socket products, spacers & standoffs, studs, and other products such as sealants, retaining rings, and screw driving tools.
Bolt Products Inc. was established in 1947 and operates out of San Dimas, California. Bolt Products is a wholesale distributor of fastening tools both domestically and internationally and is ISO 9001:2015 certified as well as RoHS and WEEE compliant. Bolt Products offers many types of products including bolts and plastic fasteners, nuts, lug nuts, nut retainers, cap nuts, bushings, plugs, ball studs, brass inserts, stud receivers, cable ties, cordgrips, liquid-tight flexible conduits, marking systems, and clips.
CAP BOLT LTD, founded in 2013, is a manufacturer of fasteners in Haiyan, Jiaxing. The products include bolts, screws, and nuts, used in wind power, autos, oil fields, buildings, and railways. The bolts are L-hooked, T-head, U-shaped, carriage bolts, and neoprene coated. The nuts include nylon insert hex lock, flange, lifting eye, self-clinching, and hex slotted nuts. The products are carbon steel, aluminium, stainless steel, brass, and alloy steel. The company offers custom packaging such as small boxes, PVC blister, and carton packing.
Zygology is a UK-based distributor for technical fastening products. Zygology has ISO 9001 and UKAS quality management accreditation. Zygology’s product line includes breakstem rivet systems, speed fasteners, structural breakstem fasteners, earthing products, sealing plugs, nutserts, jack nuts, versanuts, POP MFX fasteners, lock bolts, installation tools, PEM assembly solutions, placing tools, Tesa tapes, self-locking nuts, and rivet nuts. Zygology offers engineering design and consulting solutions for customer production line problems. Zygology also offers tool rentals and tool repair.
STANLEY Engineered Fastening, founded in 1910 and headquartered in Towson, Maryland, is a manufacturer and distributor of fastening and assembly solutions. The company caters to diverse industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction, electronics, and medical, offering a product range that comprises brackets for supporting structures, critical application fasteners like lockbolts and blind rivets, inserts for reinforcement, screws and bolts for fastening, and various types of hand tools for installation and removal of components. The company has multiple locations strategically positioned near its customers worldwide, including the USA, Germany, and Japan.
TR Fastenings Ltd. is part of Trifast plc, established in 1973, is a global distributor of industrial fasteners and components, based in the United Kingdom. The company caters to automotive, electronics, and general manufacturing sectors. They supply components to over 5,000 companies globally across a wide range of industries, blending their global manufacturing capability, with strong distribution and logistic support, creates a winning combination. Their Group consists of 34 locations within the UK, Asia, Europe and the USA including 7 high volume sites manufacturing cold forged fasteners and special parts and 3 technical and innovation centres.
Honsel Distribution GmbH & Co., founded in 1930, is an ISO 14001 and IATF 16949-certified supplier of fasteners and processing equipment in Germany. The fasteners include self-clinching parts, coils, bolts, sleeves, rivet nuts, and studs. Processing equipment is battery riveters, pneumatic tools, automation components, manual rivet tools, and process monitoring equipment. The company provides in-house processes such as finite elements simulations, recrystallisation annealing, laser welding, assembly and finishing operations such as drilling, milling, turning, pointing, and rolling.
Ranking as of November 2024
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Sherex Fastening Solutions |
19.0%
|
2 | Captive Fastener Corporation |
17.5%
|
3 | Honsel Distribution GmbH & Co. |
14.3%
|
4 | Trifast plc |
12.7%
|
5 | MF Supply |
11.1%
|
6 | Zygology |
7.9%
|
7 | STANLEY Engineered Fastening. |
6.3%
|
8 | Bolt Products Inc. |
6.3%
|
9 | CAP BOLT LTD |
4.8%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the clinch nut page as of November 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
---|---|---|
United States of America | 4 | 57.1% |
United Kingdom | 2 | 28.6% |
China | 1 | 14.3% |