Describe the main operating features of any one of the following: Pop riveting gun Ratchet and pawl mechanism Brazing hearth. - Leaving Cert Engineering - Question i - 2014

A pop riveting gun is an essential tool used to create a riveted joint in sheet metal. The operation begins when a pop rivet is placed into the gun and passed through a pre-drilled hole in the metals to be joined.

As the handles of the gun are squeezed, a clamping mechanism grips the shaft of the rivet and draws it back. This action causes the mandrel, which is the shaft of the rivet, to expand thereby clamping the metal sheets together. The connection remains strong until the tensile force on the rivet exceeds its capability, causing the shaft to break off, thereby completing the pop rivet joint.