Whether you are an engineer working for a large corporate film or the head of your own commercial engineering business, one of the fundamental elements you will undoubtedly always ensure that are in your toolbox is that of a range of different engineering steel dowel pins. 

So, with this in mind, continue reading for an engineer’s guide to the different types of pins and their uses. 

• Coiled Spring Pins

For engineering projects of all shapes and sizes, one type of pin which is useful in almost all situations is that of the spring tension coiled pin. 

Usually consisting of two and a quarter coils made from stainless steel or swing steel with specially designed swaged chamfers positioned on each end. Coiled spring pins are specifically designed for plain and simple holes which have been drilled, and also countersinking means that insertion is considerably easier too. 

• Plain & Threaded Dowel Pins

Essentially, steel dowel pins are ground parallel pins with special precision hardened materials and are engineered to exceedingly tight and high tolerance limits. 

As the fundamental design of both threaded and plain dowel pins is so strong and durable, they are perfect for accurate alignment, as well as locating, and can also be ordered in the exact material necessary for the particular engineering project. 

• Clevis Pins

Clevis pins are by far the best type of pin for when the parts connected around the axis are required to locate as they move around the pin. 

Usually, clevis pins are used for a fast and effective replacement for rivets and bolts and have a cross-drilled hole for cotter pins and r-pins. When ordering a set of clevis pins, ensure that the manufacturer has turned them rather than producing them in the cold-headed technique, which results in a substantially higher quality finish.

• Linch Pins

When the application requires a fast yet just as effective way to be attached to another element or component, by far, the best type of pin to use is that of the linchpin. 

Linchpins are essentially precision fasteners that are usually used to prevent a component such as one wheel or more sliding off the axle that the wheel is balanced atop of. Linchpins are often always referred to as quick release pins, and linchpins that are quick locking are considerably faster to use than ones that are not. 

• Hammer Drive Pins

When you are looking for a cost-effective solution to the assembly of one individual component or more, you should look no further than stocking up on hammer drive pins, which can be installed either by press stud or by hammer.

Hammer drive pins are basically cold-formed pins and are fashioned from low carbon steel materials, available in both flat-headed or round-headed versions. The most common usage for hammer drive pins in terms of the different materials you usually work with include brass, aluminum, mild steel, and different forms of plastic.