Machine Pins – Types of Fastener Pins

Machine pins or fastener pins are very common in engineering applications. We use them to fasten the two hubs or collars to shafts. Because of this, they are very common like the key applications. Here, we will give information about these machine pins and their types of them.

Machine pins or fastener pins are very important mechanical applications. We use them not only for attachments of shafts and hubs. But also, we use them in the attachment of different machinery parts.

In selecting a proper pin, you can use the guide that shows nearly all the types of pins available in the market. You can use them in different kinds of applications. But do not forget that, the most important consideration in the use of these pins is the total force and load requirement. There are types of pins that you can use in different kinds of load applications.

What are the Machine Pins?

Machine pins are very important machinery parts that we use to combine or assemble shafts and other kinds of devices. The assembly of these elements is very important. We just need to attach the pin through the hole on the hubs and shafts.

The most common materials are hardened steel. Because they must be hard enough to maintain the mechanical integrity with very heavy duty.

What are the Types of Fastener Pins?

According to the applications, there are different kinds of fastener pins or machine pin shapes. Here you can find a list of them.

Dowel Machine Pins

Dowel pins are the most common type of fastener pins. And they have a cylindrical shape. We just place the dowel pins to hold the parts in the alignment. The use of dowel pins is very common in pivots, jigs, shafts, and fixtures. You can find different types of dowel pins available in the markets and manufacturers.

Oversized Dowel Pins

They are the bigger versions of dowel pins that we use in bigger applications. In the repairing and replacement applications, we can use them as spare parts.

Dowel Pin Stocks

Also, fastener pin manufacturers are producing very long stocks of dowel pins that you can easily cut to obtain the required lengths. They are generally more proper for the serial production manner of use of the dowel pin stocks.

Short Dowel Pins

They are also very important in prototyping applications or smaller applications. Short dowel pins are very useful in the connection of smaller shafts and hubs to each other.

Plastic Dowel Pins

Also, the material can change for dowel pins. Some manufacturers produce dowel pins from plastic materials. The most important feature of the plastic dowel pins, they are non-conductive electrically and thermally. But in general, they are less durable than steel parts.

Groove Dowel Pins

There are different designs of grooved dowel pins are available in the market.

• Round-Head Full Groove Dowel Pins: They are dowel pins that have a round head on one side. So, you can understand the use of the round head is very common in these systems.
• Half-Grooved and Nothched Dowel Pins: In tension ring applications, we use these types of machine pins. If we take a look at the shape of this type of fastener pin, there is a half groove where the spring ends are attached.
• Half Groove Dowel Pins: There is only a groove structure on these types of machine pins. These grooves are acting as attachment points for the pivots. They provide more safe attachment and asseöbly in pivot structures.
• Quarter Groove Dowel Pins: We generally use them in the same applications as other groove dowel pin applications.
• Full Groove Dowel Pins: If we take a look at the groove structures of these machine pins, there is a full groove on the surface. This groove provides a much more firm attachment between the machinery part and the pivots.

Pull-Out Dowel Pins

These types of dowel pins are also very easy-to-use. You just need to use a proper type of driver to attach at the top side of them. Then you need to take them from the hole.

• Spiral Vent Pull-Out Dowel Pins: They have the shape of the pull-out dowel pins and the working principle is like that. There is only a spiral shape around the pin that is very useful for escaping the trapped air beneath the pin. So, the attachment and detachments of these types of pins are much easier.
• Flat Vent Pull-Out Pins: Also, they are special pins that there is a hole at the center of the pin that allows the escape of the trapped air inside it.

Shear Machine Pins

They are very specific applications of these dowel pins where they fail under specific loads. They act as insurance to prevent the shaft and hub systems from excessive loads and torques.

Round Head Barbed Machine Pins

The barbed surface of these dowel pins provides extra attachment between the pin and the plastic or aluminum soft materials.

Hollow Dowel Fastener Pins

If there are cables and wires, you can pass these cables and wires through these hollow pin applications. They are very suitable for systems that have electronic circuits.

Opposite Threaded Machine Pins

These opposite threads are very important in the attachment of the two parts around these pins. These types of fastener pins are very common in soft material applications.

Knurled Machine Pins

The knurled structures of these pins provide extra attachment between the part and the shaft structures.

• Half Knurled: Also half knurled types are available.
• Center Knurled: The place of the knurl sometimes can be important in the fastener pin applications.

Wood Fastener Pins

They are suitable for wood applications. You can use glue to stick the pin with wood parts.

Taper Machine Pins

They are another important class of fastener pins. Their shape is quite different from the dowel pins. They have a conical shape for better attachments with the shafts and hubs. Let’s check the types.

The attachment of these pins is quite different from the conventional ones. You need to apply a small hit with the hammer to attach and detach these machine pins. Also, we know them as cotter pins.

Threaded Taper Pins

Threaded taper pins are also very useful systems in pin applications. You can attach a thread to the internal thread structures of these fastener pins and you can pull to teach this pin from the hole.

Weld-On Fastener Pins

The most important difference between these fastener pins, after the attachments of these pins on the shafts and hubs you need to weld the head of the pin to the surface. So, you obtain a much more tight attachment of the pins.

Surface Weld-On Pins

They are the types of weld-on fastener pins that you do not need to attach the pin inside a hole. You just need to weld the head of the pin to the surface.

Slotted Pins

Slotted pin applications are also very common in fastener pins. In these types of pins, there is a slot inside the pin structure and two ends of the pin have chamfers.

In general, we attach these pins to the holes that have smaller in diameter. So, the spring back nature of these pins makes them strictly attach to the holes. And very strict assembly takes place between the shafts and the hubs. In general, we produce these types of pins from sheet metals. 

Cotter Pins

Also, you can see these pin applications in shafts and hubs. There is a round end and two edge ends of these machine pins. We attach these pins directly through the holes. By bending the two ends, they provide good mechanical integrity to the attachments.

You can easily detach these pins by bending the two ends into the first straight shape, then take it by holding it from the round end.

Spiral Machine Pins

They are the pins that are nearly the same as the slotted pins. But the bending roll of these sheet metal pins is more than the slotted fastener pins. So, these spiral fastener pins are harder to attach. And squeezing and spring back powers are higher. Soi tighter attachments take place for spiral machine pins.

Hitch or Lynch Pins

They have a structure of standard dowel pins but there is a hoop that you can hold to attach or detach these pins through the holes. The hitch pins need an extra locking mechanism but lynch pins do not have these mechanisms.

Locating Pins

They are the types of pins to locate different kinds of parts in tight tolerances. So, they are very important types of machine pins that we use for locating the parts to each other. So, if you take a look at these pins, the head design is made according to the loading applications.

Ejector Machine Pins

Ejector type of pins is also very common in such applications where the attachment of the long holes. There is a small heat of ejector pins for the easy removal of them from the systems.

So, there are lots of kinds of machine pins that they use in very vast applications.

Conclusion on Mechanical Pins

As you see above, mechanical pins or fastener pins have lots of kinds of types. This is because the application field is very wide for these parts. So, they are using these different kinds of parts in different applications

But the most common ones are the cotter and dowel pins. You can see that, there are different types of dowel pins. Threaded ones, knurled ones, and notched ones. These extra features are for better attachments between the mechanical systems.

And there are also very different types of pins such as weld-on pins that you are directly welding this pin to the surfaces of the structures.

So, selecting a proper pin for yourself can be a problematic issue. And these machine pins do not have any standards. They are produced by manufacturers according to their standards.

Finally, these are the general points to talk about fastener pins. Do not forget to leave your comments and questions below about the fastener pins.

Your precious feedbacks are too important to us!

FAQs About Machine Pins