The Comprehensive Guide to Steel Rivet Nuts
Leading Rivet Nut Manufacturer and Supplier in China
Steel rivet nuts are essential components in modern manufacturing and assembly, offering strong, reliable threaded connections in thin or soft materials where traditional tapping is not feasible. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about steel rivet nuts — including their heat resistance, applications across industries, different types and head styles, and how to select the right one for your project.
Table of Contents
What Are Steel Rivet Nuts?
Steel rivet nuts are internally threaded fasteners typically used on thin-walled materials or in applications where access to the reverse side is not possible. They provide a strong and reliable threaded connection and are widely used in scenarios that require high-strength fastening.
Definition:
Steel rivet nuts (also known as rivet nuts or threaded inserts) are metal fasteners with internal threads, designed to be installed in materials where using a conventional nut is difficult or impossible. Once installed, they provide a permanent and secure thread for fastening, connecting, or supporting components.
Structure:
Steel rivet nuts generally consist of the following parts:
Outer Shell: Made of steel, the exterior can be round, hexagonal, or other geometric shapes. The shell secures the rivet nut in place during installation and ensures a tight bond with the base material.
Internal Thread: The internal threading accommodates matching bolts, screws, or other fasteners. Various thread standards (e.g., metric M series, UNC) are available to suit different applications.
Closed End (Optional): Some steel rivet nuts come with a closed bottom (closed-end type), which helps prevent external contaminants such as moisture or debris from entering the thread.
Primary Functions:
The main function of a steel rivet nut is to provide an internal threaded anchor point for attaching components. It is commonly used in the following scenarios:
Thin or Inaccessible Materials: On thin metal sheets or materials where the back side is inaccessible, steel rivet nuts can be installed from one side to provide a strong threaded point.
High-Load Fastening: Steel rivet nuts offer high strength and are suitable for applications requiring substantial tensile or compressive forces.
Vibration Resistance: In environments with vibration or frequent disassembly, steel rivet nuts help prevent loosening and ensure a secure, long-lasting connection.
Why Choose Steel Rivet Nuts?
The reasons for choosing steel rivet nuts lie in their outstanding advantages in various application environments, particularly their strength, durability, and versatility.
1. High Strength and Load Capacity
One of the most notable features of steel rivet nuts is their exceptional strength, especially those made from carbon steel or alloy steel. Steel inherently possesses high strength, allowing these rivet nuts to withstand significant tensile and compressive forces, making them ideal for high-load and high-stress connections.
Carbon steel rivet nuts offer strong tensile and compressive strength, making them suitable for applications requiring high mechanical performance.
Alloy steel rivet nuts provide even better wear and impact resistance, making them ideal for more extreme working conditions.
Comparison with other materials: Compared to aluminum alloy rivet nuts, steel rivet nuts can handle higher loads and offer more stable connections. Their durability and strength mean they maintain long-term stability under high stress without loosening or damage.
2. Excellent Durability and Service Life
Steel offers outstanding durability and can maintain its performance in harsh environments over time. Steel rivet nuts perform particularly well in applications involving frequent impact, vibration, friction, or other extreme conditions.
Wear resistance: Steel rivet nuts are highly resistant to wear, able to withstand repeated operations and friction. This allows for long-term use in high-frequency environments without the need for frequent replacement.
Fatigue resistance: Steel’s excellent fatigue resistance ensures that steel rivet nuts remain reliable even under repeated loads or vibration, which is especially important in machinery and heavy equipment.
3. High Temperature Resistance
Steel rivet nuts are especially suitable for high-temperature environments, significantly outperforming those made from aluminum alloys or plastic materials.
Thermal performance: Steel maintains relatively stable performance at high temperatures and will not soften, deform, or fail under heat. This makes steel rivet nuts suitable for use in engine compartments, heat treatment workshops, and the petrochemical industry.
Temperature range: Alloy steel rivet nuts can withstand a wider temperature range, ensuring stable fastening performance even under extreme conditions.
4. Cost-Effectiveness
Compared with titanium or other high-grade alloys, steel rivet nuts are more affordable and cost-effective.
Lower manufacturing costs: Steel is a widely used material with mature manufacturing processes and abundant supply, resulting in lower production costs for steel rivet nuts—ideal for mass production.
Long-term cost savings: The durability of steel rivet nuts reduces the need for frequent replacement or maintenance. Their corrosion and fatigue resistance also lower maintenance costs and frequency.
For industries requiring long-term, large-scale use of rivet nuts (such as automotive or machinery manufacturing), steel rivet nuts meet strength requirements while effectively reducing production costs, making them a high-value choice.
5. Broad Versatility
Steel rivet nuts are applicable across almost all industries requiring threaded fastening.
Industry-wide use: Steel rivet nuts are widely used in automotive, construction, machinery, electronics, appliances, and aerospace industries. Whether for automotive parts, appliance housings, or industrial equipment assemblies, steel rivet nuts are essential.
Thin-walled applications: Steel rivet nuts are especially suitable for thin-walled materials or locations that are inaccessible from the back—such as electronic housings or aerospace components.
Whether in heavy-duty industrial fields or high-reliability sectors like electronics and aerospace, steel rivet nuts deliver strong and lasting connections.
6. Easy Installation and Maintenance
Steel rivet nuts offer simple and efficient installation, especially suitable for blind (one-side) applications.
Simple installation: Usually installed using specialized rivet tools, steel rivet nuts require no rear-side access, simplifying the operation—ideal for connections where both sides are not accessible.
Convenient maintenance: For devices requiring regular disassembly and maintenance, the design of steel rivet nuts makes both installation and removal easy, reducing time and maintenance costs.
7. High Customizability
Custom dimensions: Steel rivet nuts can be tailored in size, shape, and thread specifications to meet specific project requirements.
Variety of designs: In addition to standard round and hex styles, rivet nuts can be customized for specific use cases—such as flat profiles or self-locking features—to suit different assembly conditions.
How Strong and Load-Bearing Are Steel Rivet Nuts?
Steel rivet nuts exhibit outstanding performance in terms of strength and load-bearing capacity due to their primary material—steel (especially carbon steel and alloy steel). Steel inherently provides high tensile, compressive, and shear strength, enabling steel rivet nuts to endure significant loads and making them ideal for high-load and high-stress applications.
Tensile strength measures the maximum axial load a rivet nut can withstand before failure. It is critical for applications that involve pull-out resistance, such as thin sheet fastening and enclosure joining.
Carbon Steel Rivet Nuts:
Typically made from low-carbon steels such as Q235, 1010, or 1018, offering good formability and cost efficiency.
Common heat treatments include annealing or surface hardening (e.g., phosphating or zinc plating).
Tensile strength range: 400–600 MPa, suitable for medium-load applications.
Example applications: machine enclosures, electrical box mounting.
Alloy Steel Rivet Nuts:
Commonly made from materials like SCM435 (chromium-molybdenum steel) or 10B21 (boron steel) with high hardenability.
Typically undergo heat treatment (quenching and tempering) to enhance tensile strength.
Tensile strength range: 700–1000 MPa, with high-end products exceeding 1000 MPa.
Used in high-strength mechanical assemblies, transport equipment, and vibration-intensive environments.
2. Torque Strength
Torque strength reflects the rivet nut’s ability to resist rotational shear force under threaded load. It directly impacts installation reliability and depends on the nut body strength, thread precision, and friction with the base material.
Standard Steel Rivet Nuts:
Typically feature 6H internal thread tolerance.
Designed for thin sheet installations (0.5–3.0 mm), with torque resistance ranging from 10–50 N·m.
Torque-controlled tools are recommended to prevent thread or material damage.
High-Strength Steel Rivet Nuts:
Feature enhanced wall thickness and base designs (e.g., hexagonal bases or anti-rotation ribs) for improved torque performance.
Ideal for high-shear connections with structural steel or aluminum profiles.
Torque resistance can exceed 100 N·m, especially suited for anti-loosening and vibration-resistant scenarios.
3. Shear Strength
Shear strength evaluates the rivet nut’s resistance to transverse force—especially important in assemblies under eccentric loads or side impacts. It is influenced by contact area with the base material, material ductility, and installation quality.
Shear strength is generally 60% to 80% of tensile strength, as materials tend to perform slightly worse under shear stress.
Carbon Steel Rivet Nuts:
Shear strength typically ranges from 240–480 MPa, depending on wall thickness and fit with the base material.
Proper surface contact during installation is essential to reduce misaligned shear failure.
Alloy Steel Rivet Nuts:
Features like reinforcement ribs or serrated contact surfaces can boost lateral load capacity.
Shear strength may reach 560 MPa or higher, suitable for structural load-bearing connections.
Form: Strength Comparison of Rivet Nut Materials
| Material | Tensile Strength (MPa) | Shear Strength (MPa) | Corrosion Resistance | Fatigue Strength |
| Steel | 500–1200 | 250–700 | Moderate | High |
| Stainless Steel | 500–1100 | 250–650 | Excellent (esp. 316) | Moderate |
| Aluminum Alloy | 200–500 | 100–300 | Good | Moderate |
| Copper Alloy | 200–700 | 100–350 | Good | Moderate |
How Heat-Resistant Are Steel Rivet Nuts?
The heat resistance of steel rivet nuts depends on several factors, including the type of material, heat treatment condition, surface treatment, and environmental influences such as oxidation and thermal stress. In high-temperature environments, two key indicators are the retention of mechanical strength and oxidation resistance.
Carbon Steel Rivet Nuts (e.g., Q235, 1018)
- Maximum operating temperature: ≤300°C
- Regular carbon steels experience a sharp drop in strength at elevated temperatures. Beyond 300°C, tensile strength decreases significantly, and the material becomes prone to oxidation, deformation, and surface degradation.
- Not recommended for prolonged high-temperature applications, especially in areas like heating equipment or engine compartments.
Alloy Steel Rivet Nuts (e.g., SCM435, 40Cr, 10B21)
- Short-term operating temperature: 400°C–500°C
- Long-term stable usage: 350°C–400°C
- Heat-treated alloy steels maintain a fair level of mechanical strength at moderate to high temperatures, making them suitable for intermittent high-load, high-temperature applications (e.g., exhaust brackets, motor mounts).
- At 300°C, the strength retention is approximately 80%–85% of room temperature values; at 500°C, this drops to 50%–60%.
- Broad operating range; short-term up to 800°C; recommended long-term max: 600°C
- Outstanding oxidation resistance and strength retention at high temperatures make stainless steel the preferred material for heat-intensive applications.
- Common applications include boilers, heat exchangers, exhaust systems, and chemically resistant high-temperature components.
- Strength retention examples:
- 304 stainless retains about 40%–50% of its yield strength at 600°C.
- 316 stainless, due to its molybdenum content, offers superior resistance to high-temperature corrosion—ideal for harsh chemical-thermal environments.
- Recommended operating temperature: ≤150°C; Short-term limit: 200°C
- Aluminum alloys lose strength rapidly at elevated temperatures. Above 150°C, yield strength can fall to below 40% of ambient levels.
- Structural stability is poor under heat, and thermal expansion mismatch can cause loosening.
- Not recommended for engine bays, hot air ducts, or proximity to heat sources.
- Best suited for well-controlled thermal environments and lightweight electronic assemblies.
- Recommended operating temperature: ≤250°C; Absolute limit: ~300°C
- Copper materials offer excellent thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance, but relatively low high-temperature strength.
- Prone to softening and plastic deformation under load at elevated temperatures.
- Commonly used in electronics, heat dissipation systems, or thermally moderate environments where conductivity is critical.
Comparison Summary: Recommended Rivet Nut Materials by Application
| Application Environment | Recommended Material | Reasoning |
| General mechanical (<150°C) | Aluminum, Carbon Steel | Cost-effective and lightweight |
| Medium temperature & high load (150–400°C) | Alloy Steel, 304 SS | Strength retention and oxidation resistance |
| High-temp & corrosive (>400°C) | 316 Stainless Steel | Superior high-temp corrosion resistance |
| Electronics / Thermal Transfer Units | Copper, Aluminum | High conductivity and low weight |
| Automotive engine bay, heat exchangers | Stainless or Alloy Steel | High fatigue resistance in elevated heat |
Thermal Expansion Coefficient Comparison of Rivet Nut Materials
| Material Type | Common Grades | Thermal Expansion Coefficient (μm/m·°C) | Notes |
| Carbon Steel | Q235, 1018 | 11.0–12.5 | Stable expansion; compatible with steel frames |
| Alloy Steel | SCM435, 40Cr | 11.5–13.0 | Close to carbon steel; good structural match |
| Stainless Steel | 304, 316 | 16.0–17.5 | Higher expansion; watch for thermal stress |
| Aluminum Alloy | 5052, 6061 | 22.0–24.0 | Significant expansion; risk of loosening |
| Copper / Brass | H62, T2 | 18.0–20.0 | High thermal conductivity; mismatch with steel |
Summary & Recommendations
- Aluminum rivet nuts have the highest thermal expansion, making them prone to loosening in high-temperature or fluctuating environments. When installed in steel or stainless steel substrates, provide allowance for expansion and use anti-loosening measures (e.g., thread-locking adhesives, lock washers).
- Steel and alloy steel rivet nuts have similar thermal expansion to steel structures, ensuring good thermal stress compatibility—suitable for precise and high-temperature assemblies.
- Stainless steel rivet nuts exhibit slightly higher expansion. In steel assemblies, beware of minor thermal fatigue—avoid environments with frequent temperature swings (e.g., outdoor exposure).
- Copper-based rivet nuts expand significantly but uniformly. In thermal applications (e.g., heat sinks), ensure that expansion doesn’t cause rivet loosening or compressive stress concentration.
What Are the Applications of Steel Rivet Nuts?
1. Automotive Industry
Steel rivet nuts are widely used in automotive manufacturing for threaded connections in body structures, chassis, seating systems, engine compartments, and more.
Installed on thin-walled metal parts such as doors, roofs, and hoods to provide reliable threaded connections;
Used in exhaust systems and chassis components to withstand high temperatures and heavy loads;
Ideal for automated assembly, meeting the demands of mass production.
2. Construction & Steel Structures
In the construction and heavy structure sectors, steel rivet nuts are used to fasten light steel components, curtain wall systems, HVAC ducts, and more.
Suitable for threaded fastening on steel plates, angle irons, and hollow sections;
Easy to install, even in field operations or where rear access is not available;
Offers long-lasting, durable connections to meet safety and structural requirements.
3. Electronics & Home Appliances
Steel rivet nuts are used in home appliances, industrial control equipment, and communication terminals for connecting thin enclosures.
Used to mount panels, connectors, and switches on metal housings;
Provides secure threaded interfaces, enabling easy maintenance and assembly;
Excellent vibration resistance, ideal for devices used at high frequencies.
4. Aerospace Industry
In aerospace manufacturing, where lightweight and high strength are critical, steel rivet nuts are commonly used in auxiliary structures and installation areas.
Suitable for threaded connections on aircraft doors, panels, and seat assemblies;
Capable of withstanding high stress and vibration, ensuring flight safety;
Compatible with high-strength alloy materials.
5. Industrial Machinery
Steel rivet nuts are extensively used in the assembly and maintenance of industrial machinery, especially in areas requiring high-strength fastening.
Applied in housings, cabinets, and equipment frames for bolt connections;
Provide stable and reusable connection points for frequently serviced machinery;
High load-bearing capacity enhances overall structural stability.
6. Rail & Marine Industry
Steel rivet nuts are suitable for train bodies, ship structures, and other applications that demand corrosion resistance and high-strength connections.
Used for fixing interior seating, electrical systems, and external structures;
With proper surface treatments, steel offers good resistance to salt spray and humidity;
Suitable for installation in confined or blind areas.
7. Renewable Energy Industry
In wind power, solar power, and other renewable energy installations, steel rivet nuts are used to secure equipment housings, brackets, and electrical connections.
Withstand harsh outdoor environments including strong winds and heavy rain;
Provide robust mechanical connections to enhance long-term equipment reliability;
Fast installation makes them ideal for large-scale construction projects.
What Are the Different Types of Steel Rivet Nuts?
1. Open-End Steel Rivet Nuts
Open-end rivet nuts are the most common type, with an open top that allows a screw or bolt to pass completely through the nut.
Features: Simple structure with strong versatility, suitable for most standard bolt connections;
Applications: Widely used in machinery housings, electronic devices, automotive parts, etc.;
Advantages: Low cost, easy for mass production and assembly.
Blind rivet nuts have a sealed top that prevents liquids, dust, or gases from passing through the threaded hole into the internal structure.
Features: Provides sealing protection, blocks bolts from passing through the bottom;
Applications: Ideal for environments requiring sealing, such as electrical enclosures, sealed containers, and hydraulic systems;
Advantages: Excellent corrosion resistance and leak prevention.
3. Round vs. Hexagonal Steel Rivet Nuts
Based on outer shape, rivet nuts are available in round or hexagonal body styles.
Round Body Rivet Nuts: Easy to install, suitable for low-torque applications;
Hex Body Rivet Nuts: Offers anti-rotation capability, ideal for high-torque and high-vibration environments;
Applications: Hex body nuts are often used in automotive chassis and machinery structures, while round body types are ideal for space-constrained, light-duty applications.
4. Flat Head vs. Reduced Head
Flat Head Rivet Nuts: Wide flange provides greater clamping force, ideal for mounting on softer materials;
Reduced Head Rivet Nuts: Suitable for applications with aesthetic requirements or limited installation space;
Applications: Used in electrical enclosures, interior components, and other devices where appearance or assembly height is a concern.
5. Knurled vs. Round Body
Knurled Body Rivet Nuts: Features textured surface to improve grip with the base material and resist rotation;
Round Rivet Nuts: Suitable for hard materials or pre-treated holes where additional grip is unnecessary;
Applications: Knurled types are commonly used with plastic, thin sheet metal, or other slippery materials.
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