Self-Clinching Floating Nuts - Series CFAS, CFAC
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Captive Fastener’s self-clinching floating nuts provide an excellent design solution for applications where a mating misalignment is a possibility. The series is comprised of the CFAS, CFAC, CFFS, CFFC, and CF4-AC types of floating and floating/ locking self-clinching fasteners.
- Floating nuts allow for a misalignment of up to .030”/0.76mm in the assembly.
- If the design is a large electronic cabinet with a large door on the front, it is beneficial to use floating clinch nuts to allow for some minor misalignment of the holes in the cabinet and the door.
- Floating fasteners are made with an outer body with an inner nut that that floats to compensate for the misalignment. This allows for a successful assembly of the mating components.
Stainless Steel and Carbon Steel Self-Clinching Floating Nuts
Floating Clinch Nut Manufacturer for High-Quality Fasteners
For over 45 years, Captive Fastener has manufactured high-quality floating clinch nuts for a wide range of OEMs across all industries. We work with design engineers to ensure our floating clinch nuts meet their specification requirements and exceed their expectations.Our short lead times and vast inventory make it easy for you to purchase the fasteners you need. With responsive fastener experts here to help you find the best fastener solution for your design needs.
Self-Clinching Floating Fasteners Installation
The proper installation of each self-clinching floating nut series requires the fasteners to be harder than the panel into which they will be installed.- The CFAS (steel) and CFAC (stainless) floating clinch nuts can be installed into steel or aluminum panels with a maximum hardness of HRB 70.
- The CF4-AC (400 series heat treated) floating clinch nuts can be installed into steel, stainless, or aluminum panels with a maximum hardness of HRB 88 or less.
- The CF4-AC were specifically designed to be installed into stainless steel panels, but they can also be installed into steel or aluminum panels.
- All floating clinch nut series fasteners are available in both inch and metric thread.
Design Considerations for Self-Clinching Floating Nuts
Self-clinching float nuts provide strong reusable threads in panels as thin as .038” /.97mm. The fasteners are installed using a slow squeezing force. This allows the parent metal to flow around the clinch profile of the fastener which captivates the part in the panel.
- After installation, the floating clinch nuts retain their dimensional integrity
- When properly installed they do not deform and the parent metal flows around the clinch profile to make it an integral part of the panel.
- The clinch fasteners allow for assembly and later servicing when required with no need to access both sides of the panel.
- Floating clinch nuts offer the additional benefit of eliminating loose hardware in the assembly which is especially important in electronic enclosures.
Specifications
The proper hole sizes and minimum sheet thickness for each thread size is available in our catalog in the Dimensions & Specifications page.Material Compliance and Finishing Options for Floating Clinch Nuts
Captive Fastener’s floating clinch nuts are available in steel, stainless steel, and heat treated 400 series stainless steel material. Both metric and unified sizes are available as well.Floating Clinch Nut Material Compliance
Use our material compliance lookup tool to see plating designation compliance status. Most of our fasteners are RoHS and REACH compliant.Floating Clinch Nut Finishes
Our self-clinching floating nut fastener finishing options are available in a wide range of finishes with optional chromate. Zinc trivalent chromate options are available by request.Find the Right Self-Clinching Floating Nut for Your Needs
Call us at 201-337-6800 or request a quote. We can help you find the best SC float nut for your design requirements.