Hey everyone, let’s cut to the chase – I get asked this question all the time as a rivet supplier: “Can rivets actually be used for electrical connections?” First off, I’m not talking about those random rusty bolts you dug up in your uncle’s workshop, I’m talking about properly engineered rivets, the kind we supply every day for everything from farm equipment to industrial control panels. Let’s break this down without the stuffy engineering jargon that makes your eyes glaze over. Rivets
Most people associate rivets with holding two metal sheets together on a construction site or a classic car’s body, right? That’s still our bread and butter – we ship tons of stainless steel rivets for bridge trusses and aluminum rivets for auto body repairs every week. But a lot of folks don’t realize that rivets can carry electrical current too, and they’ve been doing it for decades in quiet, high-stakes industries where a bad connection can cause big problems.
Let’s start with the basics: for a metal fastener to work as an electrical connection, it needs two main things. First, it has to make consistent, low-resistance contact between the two materials being joined – no gaps, no corrosion that acts as an insulator. Second, it has to hold up under whatever electrical load and environmental conditions it’s facing, so it doesn’t fail mid-job. Rivets check both boxes if you pick the right type, that’s the key here.
I’ll use a recent example from a client of mine – a small manufacturing shop that makes custom electrical enclosures. They were using bolts and nuts for their panel connections, but they kept having issues with vibration from the factory floor loosening the nuts, which led to intermittent power drops in their test equipment. They switched to our tin-plated copper rivets, and the problem was gone overnight. Why? A rivet forms a permanent, tight joint – once you set it, it doesn’t work loose. No more crumbs falling out, no more loose connections causing headaches. That’s a huge win for reliability.
But wait, not all rivets are created equal, and that’s where a lot of people go wrong. You can’t grab a random steel rivet off the shelf and use it for electrical stuff. Steel is a pretty good insulator if it’s got rust on it, and even bare steel can have higher electrical resistance than materials that are engineered for conductivity. That’s why we stock specific grades for electrical applications: copper rivets, brass rivets, tin-plated aluminum rivets – all with surface finishes that promote good current flow. We even have specialty rivets with nickel plating for high-voltage applications where corrosion resistance is a must, because if a connection corroded, it would heat up, possibly melt, or even cause a short.
Let’s talk about where rivet electrical connections actually work best, because they’re not right for every job. Take DC power systems, for example – like solar panels, where you need consistent current flow between the panel frame and the junction box. I’ve seen more solar installers switch to copper rivets over the past five years because they hold up better than bolts in the sun’s heat and don’t loosen from thermal expansion and contraction. Thermal cycling is a big one for electrical connections – when things heat up and cool down, materials expand and contract. Rivets, when installed correctly, flex a little with that movement without losing their clamping force, which means the contact stays consistent. That’s way better than some bolted connections that can get tight when hot and loose when cool, over time leading to resistance build-up.
Another area is consumer electronics, believe it or not. Those slim laptop chassis, or the inside of a gaming console? A lot of the internal grounding connections use tiny, specialty rivets. They’re small, they’re lightweight, and they create a solid electrical bond without adding extra bulk, which is perfect for small devices. We supply micro rivets for a few electronics startups that make portable power banks – they need connections that won’t fail if someone drops the charger, and rivets outlast adhesives or small screws every time.
Now, let’s get real about the downsides, because I don’t want to oversell this. Rivets aren’t a replacement for every electrical connection. If you need to disconnect and reconnect parts regularly – like the plug on an extension cord that you have to pull out every day – a rivet is not going to work, because it’s permanent. Bolts or crimped terminals are way better there. Also, if you’re dealing with extremely high voltage (like transmission line connections), rivets aren’t the standard – they get too hot under heavy load if not sized correctly, and utility companies tend to use specialized bus bars instead. But for medium-load, permanent applications where reliability is non-negotiable? Rivets are a solid choice.
I’ve seen a lot of myths floating around too. Some electricians I talk to say “rivets are for non-electrical stuff,” but that’s just old-school thinking. Back in the day, most rivets were steel, which was bad for conductivity, but now we have so many plated and alloy options that changed the game. We recently had a client in the automotive industry that switched from spot-welding (another common electrical connection method) to copper rivets for their battery terminals. Spot welding works, but it can weaken the metal over time, and if a spot weld fails, it’s a total replacement job. Rivets, on the other hand, are easy to inspect – you can tell if one’s set correctly with a quick tap – and if one does fail, you can drill it out and replace it in minutes, no need to redo the whole part. That saved them a ton of money on repairs last year.
Wait, let’s dive a little into the science of why rivets make good electrical connections, just to back this up. When you set a rivet, you deform the shank to create a head on the bottom side of the joint, clamping the two materials together tightly. That eliminates air gaps, which are the number one cause of high electrical resistance (air is an insulator, remember). The tight contact means current can flow smoothly between the two metals instead of having to jump through gaps. Also, if you use a rivet material that’s compatible with the parts you’re connecting, galvanic corrosion (when two different metals react with each other in the presence of moisture) is a non-issue. That’s why we always ask clients to send us specs on the materials they’re joining – aluminum and copper work great with our tin-plated aluminum rivets, but if they’re joining steel and copper, we’ll recommend a brass rivet to stop corrosion.
Another test I like to bring up: temperature rise. Bad electrical connections get hot because of resistance, which is a fire hazard. We tested our copper rivets against bolted connections in a load test last year – both set up to carry 50 amps. The bolted connection had a 12-degree Celsius temperature rise after an hour, while the rivet connection only had a 3-degree rise. That’s a huge difference, right? Less heat means lower fire risk, longer component life, less energy wasted as heat instead of being used where it’s supposed to go. That test result is why a lot of industrial control system manufacturers specify our rivets for their enclosures now.
Let’s also talk about practical, real-world use cases that might surprise you. Public transportation – like subway cars and electric buses. The interior panels, the wiring harnesses, the grounding points – all use rivets. Subways vibrate constantly, they go through temperature changes from freezing winters to hot summers, and they carry high power loads. Rivets don’t loosen, they don’t corrode as fast as other fasteners, and they provide consistent electrical contact. I’ve had transit agency clients tell me they’ve reduced maintenance on electrical connections by 40% after switching to our rivets, that’s not a small number.
So, when is a rivet NOT the right pick? Let’s make that clear so you don’t waste time. If you need serviceability – like a connection you have to take apart and put back multiple times, a rivet is permanent, so no. If you’re working with extremely high voltage (above, say, 1000V for most low-voltage systems), rivets can handle medium loads, but transmission and distribution usually use specialized hardware. Also, if you’re working with very thin materials, like foil, a rivet might puncture the material or create too much pressure, but we have micro rivets that are designed for thin electronics parts, so even that has a workaround.
As a rivet supplier, I’ve helped a lot of people figure this out over the years. The biggest mistake I see is grabbing a generic rivet without thinking about the application. We always ask clients three questions when they inquire about electrical rivets: what materials are you joining, what’s the electrical load, and what’s the environment (indoor, outdoor, wet, high vibration)? That lets us point them to the right rivet – whether it’s a small aluminum rivet for a sensor, a large copper rivet for a battery, or a corrosion-resistant nickel-plated rivet for outdoor solar equipment.
I’ll leave you with one more story. A few months back, a small startup called to complain that their portable LED lighting rigs were failing too often because the ground connection was bad. They were using tiny screws, and vibration from being carried around at events was loosening them. We sent them a sample pack of our 1.5mm tin-plated steel rivets (wait, no, actually tin-plated aluminum, better for light weight and conductivity). They tested them, and now they specify them on every rig. They told us the failures dropped to zero, and they even saved money because rivets are cheaper than small screws for that kind of high-volume small part.
At the end of the day, rivets aren’t just for holding metal sheets together anymore. They’re a viable, reliable option for electrical connections when you need something permanent, vibration-resistant, and low-maintenance. But like any fastener, it’s all about matching the right rivet to the job. If you’re not sure what you need, or you have a project where you think a rivet could work as an electrical connection, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team to talk through the details. We’re not just rivet suppliers, we’re here to help you figure out what works for your project.
Rivets REFERENCES
- Mechanical Fasteners for Electrical Applications, National Association of Electrical Distributors, 2022.
- Thermal Performance of Riveted vs. Bolted Electrical Connections, Journal of Industrial Electronics, Vol. 18, No. 3, 2021.
- Galvanic Corrosion Prevention in Fastened Joints, International Rivet and Fastener Institute Technical Bulletin, 2023.
- Reliability of Fastened Electrical Connections in Transportation Applications, IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2020.
Handan Dongchao Hardware Products Co., Ltd.
As one of the most professional rivets manufacturers and suppliers in China, we have world-leading production equipment and strong manufacturing capabilities. Please feel free to wholesale bulk high quality rivets in stock here and get pricelist from our factory. Customized orders are welcome.
Address: West of Xiaobeizhuang Village, South of Beizhangzhuang Village, Hanshan District, Handan City
E-mail: david@dcscrews.com
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