Methods of Connecting Metal Tubing to Metal Sheets

Through Bolts and U-Bolts

• A connection is said to be through-bolted when a hole is drilled completely through the material and a bolt passes through the hole with a nut fastening it on the other side. Through-bolted materials generally fasten two materials to one another. Through-bolting is common and effective, though it will probably weaken metal tubing at the site of the hole. Instead, a U-bolt can be used in a similar fashion, with the U-shaped bolt wrapping around the pipe and then passing through two holes in the sheet metal.

Machine Screws

• A machine screw is similar to a typical bolt. The primary difference is that machine bolts are not designed for use with nuts. Machine bolts are intended to be screwed into a material that has been drilled and threaded. Attaching a sheet metal to tubing with a machine screw requires a hole to be drilled in one edge of the tubing or both edges, then tapping the holes, cutting threads in them so the holes could function as the nuts.

Rivets

• A rivet is a metal fastener designed to be attached only one time. It cannot be attached, detached and reattached like a machine screw or bolt. Rivet blanks are used in conjunction with rivet guns. Holes are predrilled. The rivet is then popped into place, bending and flaring a portion of the rivet so it binds two materials together.

Soldering, Brazing &Welding

• Soldering, brazing and welding are a completely different class of fastening. Rather than making a mechanical bond, these techniques create a chemical bond. With soldering and brazing, a secondary bonding metal is melted, along with a deoxidizing flux. The metal chemical sticks to two metals together. Brazing creates a stronger bond than soldering. Welding creates the strongest bond because it doesn't just stick the metals together; it chemically fuses the same type of metal together with very high heat.