This section provides an overview for clinch nuts as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 17 clinch nut manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked clinch nut companies as of June, 2023: 1.Zygology, 2.Honsel Distribution GmbH & Co., 3.Captive Fastener Corporation.
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 to 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 with the intention of further reducing 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 into 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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G-Fast has its roots back to 1989 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. G-Fast is a distributor and custom manufacturer of machine tools and equipment. Product offerings include bolts, screws, nuts, rivets, washers, pins, springs, wireforms, retaining rings, clamps, clips, pins, handles, electronic access tools, hinges, knobs, latches, panel fasteners, quick release pins, and wire management. Parts are available across several standards and materials. G-Fast’s services include custom specialized bolts, screws, and nuts, contract manufacturing, CNC machining, and cold heading.
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.
WIN SOURCE is a customer-focused online store serving a wide variety of markets industries ranging from consumer to automotive to medical, industrial, and aerospace. WS specializes on size and speed, offering a catalog of over 1 million SKUS that can be shipped within 24 hours around the world. Offerings include an extensive array of semiconductor components, audio products, cable assemblies, racks, and battery products. WIN SOURCE is AS9120B, ISO9001, ISO14001, and ISO45001 certified and is a member of the anti-counterfeiting organization, ERAI.
Doran Specialties is based in Yorba Linda, California and is a distributor of a variety of fastening hardware and tools. Doran Specialties is 9001:2015 certified. Product categories include AN, MS, NAS, and BAC-certified fasteners including bolts, nuts, fittings, washers, rivets, screws, inserts, and pins. Doran Specialties’s other products include retaining rings, bushings, rods, cables, lanyards, captive screws and nuts, clams, connectors, semiconductors, fuses, keys, machine screws, set screws, spacers and standoffs, springs, wire forms, stampings, switches, washers, and wire. Additional aircraft-specific hardware include hook and loop fasteners, nylon fasteners, O-rings, and plugs.
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.
Monroe JHP Fasteners, Inc., founded in 1970, is a supplier of fastening products and services used in the metal fabrication industry. The company, which changed its name from John H. Powers to Monroe JHP Fasteners, Inc in 2000, is based in Walker, Michigan, and supplies customers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They supply fasteners, including self-clinching, welding, and miscellaneous. Other products supplied by Monroe JHP Fasteners include rivets, sockets, flat and button head cap screws. The company has partnered with Captive Fastener, Sherex Rivet Nuts, and Industrial Rivet and Fastener Company, which manufacture the products they supply.
Hanson Rivet and Supply Co., founded in 1929, is a supplier of rivets and riveting tools and equipment used by aerospace and commercial manufacturers. The company, based in Pacoima, California, earned its ISO 9001 certificate in 2015. They supply different rivets, such as tubular, shoulder, blind, solid, and drive. Their other products include threaded inserts, lockbolts, washers, and special fasteners. They supply riveting tools and machines, such as tool selectors, hand squeezers, and accessories. Hanson also assembles short runs, long runs, impact and squeeze riveting, and other hardware components.
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.
Ranking as of June 2023 in United States of America
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Zygology | 40% |
2 | Honsel Distribution GmbH & Co. | 20% |
3 | Captive Fastener Corporation | 20% |
4 | Avantus Aerospace | 20% |
Ranking as of June 2023 Globally
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Zygology | 40% |
2 | Honsel Distribution GmbH & Co. | 20% |
3 | Captive Fastener Corporation | 20% |
4 | Avantus Aerospace | 20% |
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the clinch nut page as of June 2023. 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