It is set from one side only, with a tool rather than a press - so it works where there is no access behind.

A clinch fastener needs a press with platens on both sides of the panel.

A rivet stud is pushed into a plain hole and drawn up by a tool, collapsing into a bulge behind.

That makes it the answer for closed sections, tubes, extrusions and assembled equipment.

It is also the answer for retrofitting a threaded fixing to something already built.

Clinch fasteners hold more torque and are cheaper in volume, which is why they dominate where a press can reach.

The panel thickness the fastener is designed to clamp - outside it, the bulge forms in the wrong place.

Too thin a panel and the bulge forms clear of the material, so nothing is clamped.

Too thick and the body cannot collapse fully, so the bulge never forms properly.

Both failures leave a fastener that looks set from the accessible side.

Grip range is printed on the packaging and is the primary selection criterion after thread size.

Multi-grip versions cover a wider range at slightly reduced performance.

Because they are held by friction between the bulge and the panel, and torque eventually overcomes it.

Once the fastener rotates, it cannot be tightened and is very difficult to remove.

Splined, knurled and hexagonal bodies resist rotation far better than plain round ones.

A hexagonal hole with a matching body is the most effective arrangement where the joint is tightened repeatedly.

Thin and soft panels spin at fairly modest torque whatever the body form.

Designing the joint around the achievable torque is more reliable than tightening harder.

A clean hole at the stated diameter, deburred - and a matching shaped hole if the body is splined or hexagonal.

Hole diameter is specified precisely, because the fit determines how the body collapses.

Oversized holes reduce clamping and make spin-out much more likely.

Burrs stop the flange bearing flat, which loses clamp on the accessible face.

Hexagonal and splined bodies need a matching punched or broached hole, which is a manufacturing operation rather than a site one.

Panel thickness must also be measured rather than assumed, since it drives the grip range choice.

Hand-lever, pneumatic and hydraulic setting tools - and consistent setting force is what makes the fastener perform.

Hand tools are adequate for smaller sizes and occasional work.

Larger sizes and volume work need pneumatic or hydraulic tools, which also give repeatable stroke control.

Setting stroke rather than raw force is what determines how the bulge forms in many tools.

Under-setting leaves a loose fastener; over-setting can strip the fastener's own thread against the tool mandrel.

The tool's mandrel must match the thread, and mandrels are consumable.

With difficulty - usually by drilling out the fastener, which enlarges the hole.

The bulge behind the panel cannot be reached or reversed.

Drilling through the fastener body from the accessible side releases it into the cavity or behind the panel.

The resulting hole is larger and often out of round, so a bigger fastener may be needed.

In closed sections the released body stays inside, which may or may not matter.

Where a fixing may need to be changed, planning for a larger replacement size is sensible.

The same family and the same mechanism - a rivet nut leaves a female thread, a rivet stud a male one.

Everything about grip range, spin-out, hole preparation and tooling applies to both.

Rivet nuts are far more common and are what most people mean by the family name.

Studs are chosen for the same reason as clinch studs: the component is located over the thread before it is fastened.

Rivet nuts leave a flush surface with nothing projecting, which suits handling and transport.

The decision between them follows the assembly sequence rather than the fastener's performance.