Fastening systems: types, uses and characteristics

Household appliances, chairs, tables, cars: every inch of what we use everyday is held in place by some fastening systems. Fasteners are in fact used in a wide range of manufacturing sectors, such as vehicle assembly, picture hanging, building and construction, furniture assembly, cabinet installation and electronics.

Let’s find out what they are and what they’re used for.

What’s a fastener and when it’s used

A fastener is a hardware device that mechanically holds objects together. It’s used to create non-permanent joints that can be removed or dismantled without damaging the joining components. It’s a versatile system and can reliably hold together objects that experience a great degree of stress.

Choosing the right fastening system implies considering the characteristics of the object that needs to be fastened (dimension, weight, material) and those of the support it needs to be fastened to, as well. Fasteners are typically made of:

• carbon steel,
• alloy steel,
• stainless steel,
• inconel stainless steel,
• titanium,
• aluminium.
  
  

Fasteners: types and characteristics

The term ‘fasteners’ applies to a lot of tools, many of which are commonly used also in DIY projects and everyday house maintenance, such as:

• screws, which, unlike bolts, don’t require anything to hold them in place and whose threaded shafts make for durable holding power,
• nails, which don’t have threading but provide greater shear strength than screws, despite not providing the same holding power,
• bolts and nuts, that work in tandem to hold components together,
• anchors, used to connect things to materials like drywall or concrete,
• rivets, which create a permanent joint between two objects and are remarkably durable, compared to other types of fasteners.
  
  

When selecting a fastener for industrial applications, it is important to consider a variety of factors and characteristics, including:

• type of threading,
• applied load on the fastener,
• stiffness of the fastener,
• number of fasteners needed,
• accessibility,
• environmental factors (meaning temperature, water exposure, and potentially corrosive elements),
• installation process,
• materials to be joined,
• reusability,
• weight restrictions.
  
  

Fasteners can sometimes be provided with coatings (e.g. cadmium plating, zinc plating, phosphate plating) in order to improve their corrosion resistance and their general performance.

Fastening systems for ventilated facades by AdermaLocatelli

Fasteners play an important role in the construction business, as they provide versatile and highly customizable solutions for many kinds of innovative technologies. AdermaLocatelli’s fastening systems stem from over 40 years of experience in the market, are made in Italy and meet remarkably high quality standards. They’re carefully designed for ventilated facades and can fit all the different types of cladding panels available on the market.

AdermaLocatelli offers customized fixing systems for facade cladding, following the whole process from the project to the turnkey delivery of the ventilated facade. High-level specialists develop personalized solutions in order to meet customer requirements.

The resulting fastening systems are made of galvanized steel, stainless steel or aluminium and provide easy millimetre adjustment in all three axes to ensure perfect surface hold. The combination of long-lasting anchoring systems and wear-resistant ventilated facades means no significant maintenance needs to be put in place in at least 20 years. Using anchoring systems for ventilated facades is a strategic choice that implies many benefits, such as:

• quick and easy installing,
• simplified maintenance,
• high resistance,
• quality materials,
• customizable products,
• energy efficiency.