Huck® BobTail® - Huck’s Next-Generation, Pintail-Less HuckBolt
Click to download the Huck BobTail Data Sheet from Star Fasteners
Click to download the Huck Bobtail Tooling Brochure from Star Fasteners
Advanced fastening technology
Representing the most advanced fastening technology to date, the BobTail® delivers the highest level of performance and reliability.
Engineered to meet the challenges of a wide range of assembly applications, BobTail offers safe, quiet, swaged-on installation technology in a unique, pintail-less design. Available in an assortment of sizes, in both Grade 5 and Grade 8. BobTail offers 5 times the fatigue strength of conventional nuts and bolts and unmatched installation speed – often under 2 seconds per fastener.
Its unique no-break-off pintail offers the highest corrosion resistance in its class, while advanced, low-swage technology enables installation with lightweight, ergonomic tools. When you factor in the cost of fasteners with installation and inspection labour, BobTail often provides an overall lower installed cost.
Not Just Manufactured. Huck-Engineered
Unlike conventional nuts and bolts, which have gaps on the thread flanks even when tightened, the BobTail system is designed for full metal-to-metal contact around the bolt thread by the collar. An installed BobTail has no gaps and delivers a more secure connection, providing reliability even in the most severe environments.
Available Sizes: 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", 1", 12mm, 14mm, 16mm, 20mm
Materials: Steel, Aluminium, Stainless Steel
Head styles: Round, Truss, 90° Flush, Flanged, 98T
The maintenance free Huck BobTail® Lockbolt fastening system
These unique engineered fasteners have been proven in demanding applications such as truck suspensions, chassis, as well as in the assembly of wind turbines and solar arrays. BobTail is a precision engineered two-piece fastener, it is installed using a direct tension technique in which the pin is pulled and the collar is simultaneously swaged into the locking grooves of the pin, deforming the collar into the grooves.
• Innovative and unique lockbolt design with no pin break means highest corrosion resistance in its class.
• Installation indicator for visual inspection.
• Maintenance free joints with consistent clamp.
• Quick visual inspection assures quality joint.
• Low-noise, low-maintenance tooling.
• Unmatched installation speed – often under 2 seconds.
• Unique, low-swage technology allows lightweight, ergonomic tooling.
A quick visual inspection is all that is required to confirm the accuracy and quality of the installation. An operator requires a minimal amount of training in order to be proficient in their installation.
HuckBolts can be effectively used with virtually any metal, and dissimilar metals with dissimilar coefficients of thermal expansion present no problems. Varying material thicknesses in a joint are readily accommodated, and surface finishes are not damaged. And most importantly, HuckBolts are proven to hold up over years of service in demanding high-stress, high-vibration environments.
Through its advanced fastener design the BobTail system offers a strong connection. One key advantage of this fastener over conventional LockBolting systems is that it doesn't have a pintail to break off. As a result, there is no waste material to collect and dispose of post-installation. The added benefit of this is that the tools are lighter and smaller as they do not need the force to break the pintail of a traditional Lockbolt.
The BobTail is installed using a quiet, jolt-free swaging action, eliminating the potential for repetitive stress syndrome issues. It has significantly reduced noise levels, typically less than 70dB as there isn't a pintail to break off. The elimination of the shock load and reduced noise can offer real and significant health and safety benefits.
Declared by DIBt as maintenance free
Following a rigorous testing programme, the Huck BobTail Lockbolt fastener has earned the prestigious German national technical approval, otherwise known as allgemeine bauaufsichtliche Zulassungen (abZ). The accreditation was awarded by internationally recognised approval body Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik (DIBt).
The DIBt test confirmed that a BobTail is maintenance-free during the lifetime of the joint it is fastening, which is not the case when using traditional nut and bolt products. As a result, it can be integrated into a range of applications with complete confidence by engineers and product designers.
Specialists in the supply and distribution of Huck Fasteners, Star Fasteners are proud to be the UK’s largest Huck stockists. Working globally with a diverse range of end users and distributors from across a number of industries, offering technical application knowledge, customer support, and tooling sales, service and repair.
For more information on our products and services, potential applications, tips, ideas and product news, just give us a call on +44(0)1159324939, or email sales@starfasteners.co.uk.
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