A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing, luggage and other bags, camping gear, and many other items, zippers come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colors. In 1892, Whitcomb L. Judson, an American inventor from Chicago, patented the original design from which the modern device evolved.
A grommet is a ring or edge strip inserted into a hole through thin material, typically a sheet of textile fabric, sheet metal or composite of carbon fiber, wood or honeycomb. Grommets are generally flared or collared on each side to keep them in place, and are often made of metal, plastic, or rubber. They may be used to prevent tearing or abrasion of the pierced material or protection from abrasion of the insulation on the wire, cable, line being routed through the penetration, and to cover sharp edges of the piercing, or all of the above.
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the tail. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched or drilled hole, and the tail is upset or bucked, so that it expands to about 1.5 times the original shaft diameter, holding the rivet in place. In other words, the pounding or pulling creates a new "head" on the tail end by smashing the "tail" material flatter, resulting in a rivet that is roughly a dumbbell shape. To distinguish between the two ends of the rivet, the original head is called the factory head and the deformed end is called the shop head or buck-tail.
A fastener or fastening is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent joints; that is, joints that can be removed or dismantled without damaging the joining components. Steel fasteners are usually made of stainless steel, carbon steel, or alloy steel.
A bolted joint is one of the most common elements in construction and machine design. It consists of a male threaded fastener that captures and joins other parts, secured with a matching female screw thread. There are two main types of bolted joint designs: tension joints and shear joints.
The Bachmann hitch is a friction hitch, named after the Austrian alpinist Franz Bachmann. It is useful when the friction hitch needs to be reset quickly or often or made to be self-tending as in crevasse and self-rescue.
A collet is a segmented sleeve, band or collar. One of the two radial surfaces of a collet is usually tapered and the other is cylindrical. The term collet commonly refers to a type of chuck that uses collets to hold either a workpiece or a tool but has other mechanical applications.
A bin bag, rubbish bag, garbage bag, bin liner, trash bag or refuse sack is a disposable bag used to contain solid waste. Such bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides of the receptacle from becoming coated in waste material. Most bags today are made out of plastic, and are typically black, white, or green in color.
A cable tie is a type of fastener for holding items together, primarily electrical cables and wires. Because of their low cost, ease of use, and binding strength, cable ties are ubiquitous, finding use in a wide range of other applications. Cable ties were first manufactured by Thomas & Betts under the brand name Ty-Rap.
A safety wire or locking-wire is a type of positive locking device that prevents fasteners from falling out due to vibration and other forces. The presence of safety wiring may also serve to indicate that the fasteners have been properly tightened.
A latch or catch is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on the other mounting surface. Depending upon the type and design of the latch, this engaged bit of hardware may be known as a keeper or strike.
An impact wrench is a socket wrench power tool designed to deliver high torque output with minimal exertion by the user, by storing energy in a rotating mass, then delivering it suddenly to the output shaft. It was invented by Robert H. Pott of Evansville, Indiana.
A wall plug, also known as an anchor (US) or "Rawlplug" (UK), is a fibre or plastic insert used to enable the attachment of a screw in material that is porous or brittle or that would otherwise not support the weight of the object attached with the screw. It is a type of anchor that, for example, allows screws to be fitted into masonry walls. In US English, mentions of drywall anchors are sometimes meant to refer specifically to the type of plastic wall plugs with expandable wings for hollow walls, in contradistinction with mollies and toggle bolts.
A zipper storage bag,slider storage bag,zipper bag,zip lock bag, or zippie is an inexpensive flexible rectangular storage bag, usually transparent, made of polyethylene or similar plastic, that can be sealed and opened many times, either by a slider, which works in a similar way to a zip fastener, or by pinching together the two sides of a mechanical sealing mechanism with one's fingers. The bags are made in many sizes; a typical small size is 1.5 by 2.5 inches, and a typical large size is 9 by 12 inches. Material thickness (gauge) varies; smaller bags are typically 40 to 45 µm.
Tie down hardware is used to turn webbing into a tie down strap. There are various categories of tie down strap hardware that allow for the creation of a virtually unlimited number of different types of tie down straps. These pieces of hardware fall into several categories including fasteners, end fittings, and buckles.
A cleco, also spelled generically cleko, is a temporary fastener developed by the Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Company. Widely used in the manufacture and repair of aluminum-skinned aircraft, it is used to temporarily fasten sheets of material together, or to hold parts such as stiffeners, frames etc together, before they are permanently joined.
A screw and a bolt are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a male thread. Screws and bolts are used to fasten materials by the engagement of the screw thread with a similar female thread in a matching part.
A bolt is a form of threaded fastener with an external male thread requiring a matching pre-formed female thread such as a nut. Bolts are very closely related to screws.
A bag is a common tool in the form of a non-rigid container, typically made of cloth, leather, or other materials. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal skin, cotton, or woven plant fibers, folded up at the edges and secured in that shape with strings of the same material. Bags are used for carrying items like personal belongings, groceries, or other objects. They comes in various shapes and sizes, often equipped with handles or straps for easy carrying.
