Threaded Inserts
Tips & Advice to help you make your decision on Threaded Inserts
Threaded inserts are made to fasten materials together, such as those made from steel, aluminum, cast iron, wood, and plastic. The most basic form of threaded insert would have been made molded into a pre-formed or pre-drilled holes to fasten materials. Some industries that use these inserts are the defense, aerospace, and automotive industries. They are used in their assembly lines as well as in other various high volume applications.
To find the right inserts, you want to take note of the outer diameter, inner diameter, and threads per inch. Installation is fairly simple and can easily be done if you have the right tools and training. Many types of inserts can even be near permanently or actually permanently held in place by using adhesives. This is most common in use with wood and craft applications. Special tools used for various inserts include pneumatic drivers and T-wrenches, which typically give more torque and make the process easier on your hands.
To find the right threaded inserts and tools, you want to do your research to find out the different manufacturers available. To help you with the process, Business.com has plenty of useful links to make sure you get the right products for the right price.
Threaded Inserts
Threaded inserts provide a solid hold in many everyday productsBy Octavia McFerrin Available in both standard and metric sizes, a threaded insert can be used to fasten together materials made of aluminum, cast iron, steel, wood and even plastic. A threaded insert, at its most basic, is a fastener that is molded into pre-drilled or pre-formed holes for fastening. The aerospace, automotive and defense industries trust the strength of a threaded insert in assembly line and other high volume applications. You can look for a threaded insert based on a specific inner diameter (ID), outer diameter (OD) or threads per inch (TPI). Using adhesives in wood or other craft applications can provide even more, and sometimes permanent, hold.
Installation is simple and can be done simply with a little training and the right tools. You can install many threaded inserts without special tools but tools like T-wrenches and pneumatic drivers can give you more torque and make installation less harsh on your hands. Installation tools can also help you prevent over-tightening when threads are damaged.
To get the most solid hold from a threaded insert, consider the following:
1. The right tools and techniques
2. Threaded insert suppliers for metal applications
3. Threaded insert suppliers for wood applications
Make installation easy with the right threaded insert tool
Before you start, find the right threaded insert tool from the same vendors that offer threaded inserts. You can find tools that will work on a threaded insert made of any material and diameter as well as tools that are made specifically for wood or woodworking projects. Also available are kits and tools that will repair inserts with damaged threads for jobs that are too complex or expensive to disassemble.
Try:
Barnhill Bolt offers tools to install threaded inserts right the first time. All Fasteners sells individual installation tools as well as insert repair kits.
Find threaded inserts for metal for the tightest hold in heavy-duty applications
Threaded inserts for metal are used in thousands of industries but especially in automotive applications. Metal threaded inserts provide higher clamping pressure and especially withstand loosening due to vibration. Many of the groove-pin inserts are so effective that they are designed to be permanent fasteners. For the strongest metal inserts, look for ones made of steel.
Try:
E-Z Lok offers the toughest threaded inserts for metal made of carbon steel. Groov-Pin Corp offers groove-pin and traditional threaded inserts for installation in metal.
Get threaded inserts for wood building or manufacturing projects
Unlike automotive threaded inserts for metal, threaded inserts for wood are made for furniture and other wood crafts so companies can manufacture furniture for consumers to assemble after purchase. Threaded wood inserts made of brass provide a powerful hold, especially on particle board, while press-in wood inserts prevent splintering due to wear and tear.
Try:
Find drivers as well as brass threaded inserts for wood through Woodworker's Supply. Woodcraft offers a wide variety of threaded insert sizes as well as T-wrenches for wood-specific applications.
- If you want a clean, finished surface, look for closed-end threaded inserts. They are more expensive than traditional threaded inserts because more metal is used to make up the closed end, but closed-end inserts prevent wood, metal and plastic chips from getting stuck inside the insert or mold which makes for a prettier end-product.
Looking to find Threaded Inserts? See our Threaded Inserts guide.