Fastener in the context of Circle cotter

In electrical and mechanical trades and manufacturing, each half of a pair of mating connectors or fasteners is conventionally designated as male or female, a distinction referred to as its gender. The female connector is generally a receptacle that receives and holds the male connector. Alternative terms such as plug and socket or jack are sometimes used, particularly for electrical connectors.

The assignment is a direct analogy with male and female genitalia. The part bearing one or more protrusions, or which fits inside the other, is designated male, while the one with the corresponding indentations, or fitting outside the other, is designated female. Extension of the analogy results in the verb to mate being used to describe the process of connecting two corresponding parts together.

A fishing swivel is a small, usually ball- or barrel-shaped device used in angling to connect sections of fishing lines, consisting of two rings linked via a thrust bearing pivot joint. The line from the rod and reel is tied to the ring at proximal end, and the line leading to the terminal tackles (the hook, lure and/or sinker) is tied to the other ring at the distal end. Snap swivels have a safety pin-like fastener (i.e. "snap hook") linked to at least one of the rings, which allows quick detachment and interchanging of different lures.

The main purpose of the swivel is to allow the two line sections to rotate independently of each other, which allows self-unwinding of any twists formed during line casting and retrieval, preventing undesirable tanglings. This is particularly important for users of monofilament fishing lines that tend to express memory and form coils when released from a fixed-spool reel. A secondary benefit of the fishing swivel is that it may function as a stopper for sliding sinkers, which depending on fishing method may be placed before or after the swivel. Three-way swivels provide an additional ring that serves as a point of connection for side-branching line segments, which are essential for certain line and hook setups.

A pyrotechnic fastener (also called an explosive bolt, or pyro, within context) is a fastener, usually a nut or bolt, that incorporates a pyrotechnic charge that can be initiated remotely. One or more explosive charges embedded within the bolt are typically activated by an electric current, and the charge breaks the bolt into two or more pieces. The bolt is typically scored around its circumference at the point(s) where the severance should occur. Such bolts are often used in space applications to ensure separation between rocket stages, because they are lighter and much more reliable than mechanical latches.

In applications that require safety, precision and reliability, such as the aerospace industry, pyrotechnic fasteners are triggered using exploding bridgewire detonators, which were themselves later succeeded by slapper detonators. Classical blasting caps are generally avoided for such usage.

Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation.

The use of adhesives offers certain advantages over other binding techniques such as sewing, mechanical fastenings, and welding. These include the ability to bind different materials together, the more efficient distribution of stress across a joint, the cost-effectiveness of an easily mechanized process, and greater flexibility in design. Disadvantages of adhesive use include decreased stability at high temperatures, relative weakness in bonding large objects with a small bonding surface area, and greater difficulty in separating objects during testing. Adhesives are typically organized by the method of adhesion followed by reactive or non-reactive, a term which refers to whether the adhesive chemically reacts in order to harden. Alternatively, they can be organized either by their starting physical phase or whether their raw stock is of natural or synthetic origin.

In woodworking and construction, a nail is a small object made of metal (or wood, called a tree nail or "trunnel") which is used as a fastener, as a peg to hang something, or sometimes as a decoration. Generally, nails have a sharp point on one end and a flattened head on the other, but headless nails are available. Nails are made in a great variety of forms for specialized purposes. The most common is a wire nail. Other types of nails include pins, tacks, brads, spikes, and cleats.

Nails are typically driven into the workpiece by a hammer or nail gun. A nail holds materials together by friction in the axial direction and shear strength laterally. The point of the nail is also sometimes bent over or clinched after driving to prevent pulling out.

A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole.

In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, or seashell. Buttons can also be used on containers such as wallets and bags. Buttons may be sewn onto garments and similar items exclusively for purposes of ornamentation. In the applied arts and craft, a button can be an example of folk art, studio craft, or even a miniature work of art. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact.

A bayonet mount (mainly as a method of mechanical attachment, such as fitting a lens to a camera using a matching lens mount) or bayonet connector (for electrical use) is a fastening mechanism consisting of a cylindrical male side with one or more radial pegs, and a female receptor with matching L-shaped slot(s) and with spring(s) to keep the two parts locked together. The slots are shaped like a capital letter L with serif (a short upward segment at the end of the horizontal arm); the peg slides into the vertical arm of the L, rotates across the horizontal arm, then is pushed slightly upwards into the short vertical "serif" by the spring; the connector is no longer free to rotate unless pushed down against the spring until the peg is out of the "serif".

The bayonet mount is the standard light bulb fitting in the United Kingdom and in many countries that were members of the British Empire including Australia, Hong Kong, Fiji, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Ireland and New Zealand, parts of the Middle East and Africa and, historically, in France and Greece.

A latch or catch (called sneck in Northern England and Scotland) is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two or more objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on the other mounting surface. Depending upon the type and design of the latch, this engaged bit of hardware may be known as a keeper or strike.

A latch is not the same as the locking mechanism of a door or window, although often they are found together in the same product.

A bolt is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to a matching nut. The bolt has an external male thread requiring a matching nut with a preformed female thread.

A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the tail. On installation, the deformed end is called the shop head or buck-tail.

Because there is effectively a head on each end of an installed rivet, it can support tension loads. However, it is much more capable of supporting shear loads (loads perpendicular to the axis of the shaft).

A clamp is a fastening device used to hold or secure objects tightly together to prevent movement or separation through the application of inward pressure. In the United Kingdom the term cramp is often used instead when the tool is for temporary use for positioning components during construction and woodworking; thus a G cramp or a sash clamp but a wheel clamp or a surgical clamp.

There are many types of clamps available for many different purposes. Some are temporary, as used to position components while fixing them together, others are intended to be permanent. In the field of animal husbandry, using a clamp to attach an animal to a stationary object is known as "rounded clamping." A physical clamp of this type is also used to refer to an obscure investment banking term, "fund clamps." Anything that performs the action of clamping may be called a clamp, so this gives rise to a wide variety of terms across many fields.

A terminal is the point at which a conductor from a component, device or network comes to an end. Terminal may also refer to an electrical connector at this endpoint, acting as the reusable interface to a conductor and creating a point where external circuits can be connected. A terminal may simply be the end of a wire or it may be fitted with a connector or fastener.

In network analysis, terminal means a point at which connections can be made to a network in theory and does not necessarily refer to any physical object. In this context, especially in older documents, it is sometimes called a pole. On circuit diagrams, terminals for external connections are denoted by empty circles. They are distinguished from nodes or junctions which are entirely internal to the circuit and are denoted by solid circles.

A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the head. The most common use of screws is to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety of materials. Screws might be inserted into holes in assembled parts or a screw may form its own thread. The difference between a screw and a bolt is that the latter is designed to be tightened or released by torquing a nut.

The screw head on one end has a slot or other feature that commonly requires a tool to transfer the twisting force. Common tools for driving screws include screwdrivers, spanners, wrenches, coins and hex keys. The head is usually larger than the body, which provides a bearing surface and keeps the screw from being driven deeper than its length; an exception being the set screw (aka grub screw). The cylindrical portion of the screw from the underside of the head to the tip is called the shank; it may be fully or partially threaded with the distance between each thread called the pitch.

Machine element or hardware refers to an elementary component of a machine. These elements consist of three basic types:

1. structural components such as frame members, bearings, axles, splines, fasteners, seals, and lubricants,
2. mechanisms that control movement in various ways such as gear trains, belt or chain drives, linkages, cam and follower systems, including brakes and clutches, and
3. control components such as buttons, switches, indicators, sensors, actuators and computer controllers.

While generally not considered to be a machine element, the shape, texture and color of covers are an important part of a machine that provide a styling and operational interface between the mechanical components of a machine and its users.

A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning.

In the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, spanner is the standard term. The most common shapes are called open-ended spanner and ring spanner. The term wrench is generally used for tools that turn non-fastening devices (e.g. tap wrench and pipe wrench), or may be used for a monkey wrench—an adjustable pipe wrench.