What are Captive Fasteners?

This leads us to the introduction of captive fastener assemblies, particular components employed to construct outer paneling to a housing. These specialized parts help simplify processes by providing individuals with concise and easy-to-use solutions to what used to require complex solutions. As such, there are three common types of captive fasteners available to suit a myriad of projects: captive screws, captive nuts, and weld nuts. 

Captive screws are a type of machine fastener which serve to hold a specialized captive washer or nut to form a permanent hold when joining two or more objects together. Fabricated to be exceptionally durable, captive screws are routinely made from steel or aluminum and find great use among medical devices, electronic enclosures, network cabinets, signs, and more. Moreover, they can also be applied as back-up safety fasteners wherever vibration shock, thermal expansion, and thermal conductivity are present. While captive screws are often reserved for assembling industrial machinery, they can also be used to attach pieces of paneling for equipment involving computers, high-performance vehicles, and aircraft, alongside military applications.

Like most nuts, captive nuts are internally threaded; however, they are specifically made for applications involving thin, soft, or fragile machine panels to mitigate surface damage. Designed to quickly and easily join with studs, captive nuts are an optimal fastener for blind locations or tight spaces of implementation. Self-retaining in nature, captive nuts also routinely incorporate a spring steel cage for the purpose of easy mounting along square-holed racks. 

Like their namesake, weld nuts serve the purpose of welding to another object. To accommodate various screw shafts, different kinds of weld nuts exist depending on the type of screw being used; although, most weld nuts are manufactured from low-carbon steel or stainless steel, such as retainer, single tab, four projection, and twin pilot weld nuts, in addition to slab base nuts. Because they can be used by several fasteners, weld nuts are especially useful for heavier-gage materials and screws which are misaligned or off-center. This is because parts like retainer weld nuts incorporate a nut which floats to compensate for inconsistencies between the fastener assembly and parts being joined.   

For all necessary captive fastener parts, we invite you to browse our inventory for a diverse range of fixtures that are readily available for implementation. No matter your fastener needs, ASAP Logistic Solutions is here to streamline and expedite any one of your orders for immediate procurement. Due to our quality control and export compliance, we operate with AS9120B, ISO 9001:2015, and FAA AC 00-56B accreditation, alongside a strict NO CHINA Sourcing pledge. If you would like to request a quote for your comparisons, we invite you to submit an Instant Request for Quote (RFQ) form, as provided throughout our website. Upon receipt, a dedicated account manager will quickly review your product needs, responding with a customized solution fit to your requirements