FAQ’s

A centralising tool is used to create a hole for a rivet to be installed concentrically to a larger diameter sliding point hole that’s been pre-drilled into a rain-screen panel. This ensures that the rivet can move freely with the structure (which is subject to thermal movement) without locking up or damaging the panel. 

A stand-off nose piece ensures that a rivet “stands off” from the face of the panel in-line with panel manufacturers’ recommendations. This ensures the rivet does not “lock up” a panel and avoids damage to both the panel and the rivet. 

A blind rivet (Commonly referred to as “POP” rivet – a trade name) is a two-part fastener designed to permanently join two or more components together in a single action from one side of a workpiece. Blind rivets are manufactured from a variety of materials including steel, aluminium, and stainless steel. In their simplest form, the two parts typically consist of a hollow tube with a wide base (Referred to as the flange) which is assembled onto a headed wire (referred to as the mandrel).

The two components are often manufactured from dissimilar materials to accommodate the rivet’s intended application. Due to the expansive number of applications and environments blind rivets are used, a wide number of variations also exist in their functional and aesthetic design to accommodate requirements such as water tightness, high loads and fragile workpieces. Because blind rivets work by creating a permanent connection using a positive clamping action, they are the preferred choice of fastener in applications where the work-pieces to be joined may be subject to vibration or movement that would render thread-forming screws or nuts and bolts unsuitable

A screw is a fastener type, defined primarily by its ability to form a thread as it’s installed and provides “pull-out resistance” from a single or multiple layered substrates.

Screws can be manufactured from many different materials including steel, brass and stainless steel and have a number of different head types, including Hexagon, round and countersunk. They can be installed using a number of different “drive” types such as slotted, Pozi, Torx and hex.

Screws can be used in a variety of substrates including, steel, aluminium, timber and plastic but it is essential that the correct screw is selected based on the environment, substrate specified, and the screws required technical performance.

Self-drilling screws (often referred to as “Tek screws”) are self-tapping screws with an integrated drill tip which allows drilling and installation of the fastener in a single action. This often makes self-drilling screws the preferred choice of installers over blind rivets or simple self-tapping screws as it eliminates the need to pre-drill the substrate.

Self-drilling screws are usually manufactured from Carbon or stainless steel. Carbon steel screws can be finished in a number of different coatings which can provide limited resistance to corrosion. Stainless Steel drill screws are usually recommended for use in external or corrosive environments and are manufactured in two ways.

Screws designed for use in a metal can generally be split into self-tapping screws and self-drilling screws.  A self-tapping screw requires the installer to pre-drill the substrate with a defined hole size relevant to the thickness of the steel, the body diameter of the screw selected and the thickness of steel the screw is to be installed.

A sliding point is a large diameter hole in a panel that allows a rivet or screw to move within the hole as the subframe is subjected to thermal movement.

A fixed point is a small diameter hole usually 0.1mm bigger than the fixing diameter being used to secure the panel to the subframe. The fixed point ensures that a panel will not move or slide from its required position.