Sorry I'm late to the party guys, I'm new here, hi.
I've seen manufacturers like Reliant and TVR use "rivnuts" (rivet nuts) in years gone by, to secure fibreglass. In my experience though, unless they're used on thicker reinforced areas, they normally produce cracks in the material, due to expansion of the sleeve during the "rivetting" phase.
Airbus and Boeing use "anchor nuts". These are good because they provide a wider fixing area for the distribution of forces, but unfortunately need rivetting again which can lead to the aforementioned cracks, unless you were to forgo the rivetting, and secure them in place with fibreglass or an adhesive.
"Well nuts" are good anti-vibration mounts, but they result in a less attractive end result if they're visible after they're fitted.
"Jack nuts" and Versa Nuts" are probably a good option, (jack nuts if you're into weight saving!), as there's no expansion of the pilot hole required, but they do need more room behind the panel because they start off being a little longer than the other options.
A few are illustrated here (I'm not an affiliate):https://www.rivetwise.co.uk/rivets/rivet-nuts.asp
Velcro has been mentioned. Mclaren used 3M "Dual Lock" to secure the number plates on the F1 road cars. I've personally used it for numerous applications. It's great stuff, but not a "flush fit" option, unfortunately, it's quite thick. Also not recommended if the part is going to be removed on a regular basis, unless it's used sparingly.
Hope the above helps someone, sometime in the future.![]()




Reply With Quote
Bookmarks