Buying The Dowel Pins!

·         Precision Dowel Pins

o   Dowel pins are small cylindrical rods used to join two or more items together. They are short, cylindrical rods made up of various materials like wood, metal, and plastic. Dowel pins come in a variety of sizes, styles, designs and materials and can be tapered, slotted, grooved, or otherwise altered to change as per the mechanical properties.

·         Materials

One should select the right material i.e. Wood, Metal or Nylon etc for the Dowel Pin.

o   Alloy and Stainless Steel- Alloy is strongest of steel type and has high tensile strength. Stainless steel is also strong with an excellent resistance to heat.

o   Case Hardened Carbon Steel- It is less brittle in nature and will not fracture under high stress.

o   Wood- Ideal for furniture building and are effective for fast repairs.

o   Nylon- They are light in weight. And ideal for electrical applications where corrosion is a concern.

·         Dowel Pin Types

o   Precision- are effective in interference fit applications.

o   Grooved- smooth end allows the connect unit to rotate freely.

o   Oversized- allows the damaged holes to open wider and accommodate the new pin.

o   Pull Out- ideal for blind holes. Allows easy removal and reuse.

o   Standard- fastens parts and maintain consistent alignment.

·         Styles of Dowel Pin

o   Round- Mostly are available in standard round shape. Having smooth finish to easily use through hole applications. Some have flat surface without any internal thread.

o   Vented- All vented style pins are used in blind- hole applications. Spiral vents have a groove cut from end to end and are internally threaded. Whereas Flat vent pins have ground flat chamfer along one side and these are also internally threaded.

·         Size to Buy

o   Standard size to buy in inch would be from 1/16” to 1” diameter and metric from M1 to M20 diameter.

·         What information is required before ordering the pin

o   One needs to have a proper details of diameter, length and material. One should always check for tolerance, plating and style as required.

·         Special Installation Tools

o   No hammering to be done while installing Dowel Pins. Should not drive the pin forcefully into the hole; always press lightly. Production of the pins favor since they do not require external fastening hardware. This ease of use adds up the speed of further production.