Information On Dowel

A dowel is a solid cylindrical Rod (geometry) usually made of wood plastic or metal In its original manufactured form, dowel is called dowel rod Dowel rod is employed in numerous, diverse applications. It is used to form axle in toys, as detent on grip (gymnastics) as knitting needles and as structural reinforcement in cabinet making Dowel rod is often cut into short lengths called dowel pins which are used in various ways: * As shelf supports in furniture. * As moveable pieces (i.e., pegs) in games. * As supports for hanging items such as key rings, tools, toilet roll dispensers and picture frames. * To secure two objects together with precise alignment in a dowel joint a hole is bored in both objects and the dowel pin is inserted into the aligned holes. * To wind textiles around

Wood dowel

Image:Holzduebel-D10mm x L50mm.jpg Image:Polaczenie kolkowe.svg

Manufacturing process

For modest manufacturing volumes, wood dowel is typically manufactured on industrial dowel machine . Such machines employ interchangeable parts cutting heads of varying diameter , thus enabling the machines to be quickly retooled to manufacture different diameters of dowel (e.g., 1/4", 1/2", 2", etc.). Each head consists of a hollow chuck (engineering) with tool bit protruding inward, through which the wood passes as the knives cut it into cylindrical shape. The mechanism is open-ended, with material guides at the machines entry and exit to enable fabrication of continuous dowel rod of unlimited length. Some dowel machines have powered feed devices that automatically feed material into the machine, while others require hand feeding. High volume dowel manufacturing is done on a wood shaper which simultaneously forms multiple dowels from a single piece of rectangular stock (i.e., wood). These machines employ two wide, rotating cutting heads, one above the stock and one below it. The heads have nearly identical cutting profile (engineering) so that each will form an array of adjoined, side-by-side "half dowels." The heads are aligned to each other and one head is shaped to make deeper cuts along the dowel edges so as to part the stock into individual dowel rods, resulting in a group of dowel rods emerging in parallel (geometry) at the machines output.

Application

The wooden dowel rod used in woodworking applications is commonly cut into dowel pins, which are used to reinforce Woodworking joints and support shelves and other components in cabinet making Some woodworkers make their own dowel pins, while others purchase precut dowel pins that are typically available in assorted lengths and diameters. Various systems, such as Dowelmax have been devised to aid in dowel Woodworking joints Dowel-based joinery typically employs fluteddowel pins. A fluted dowel pin has a series of parallel grooves cut along its length. The fluting provides channels through which excess glue—which is used to secure the dowel pin in its hole—can escape as the dowel is inserted, thereby relieving the hydraulic pressure that might otherwise split the timber when the mating pieces are clamped together. Depending on the application, alternative joinery methods may be used in place of conventional dowel pins, including Miller dowels, biscuit joiner , and proprietary tools such as the Domino jointer

Metal dowel

In stone masonry

Image:Anker-Spreitzdübel M10 Fabrikat SPIT.jpg Steel dowels are commonly used in masonry to pin stone components together. Holes are bored in the stone and the steel dowels inserted to secure the components.

In machinery

File:Steel-Dowel-Pins.jpg Dowel pins are often used as precise locating devices in machinery. Steel dowel pins are Machining to tight Engineering tolerance#Mechanical component tolerance as are the corresponding holes, which are typically reamed A dowel pin may have a smaller diameter than its hole so that it freely slips in, or a larger diameter so that it must be pressed into its hole. When designing mechanical components, engineers typically use dowel holes as reference points to control positioning variations and attain repeatable assembly quality. If no dowels are used for alignment (e.g., components are mated by bolts only), there can be significant variation, or "play," in component alignment. Typical drilling and milling operations, as well as manufacturing practices for bolt threads, introduce mechanical play proportional to the size of the fasteners. For example, bolts up to 10mm (3/8") in diameter typically have play on the order of 0.2 mm (0.008 inches).When dowels are used in addition to bolts, however, the tighter dimensional tolerances of dowels and their mating holes—typically 0.01 mm (0.0008")—result in significantly less play, on the order of 0.02 mm (0.0004 inches).Manufacturing costs are inversely proportional to mechanical tolerances and, as a result, engineers must balance the need for mechanical precision against cost as well as other factors such as manufacturability and serviceability. In automobiles, dowels are used when precise mating alignment is required, such as in differential gear casings, engines, and transmissions.

In woodworking

File:Cross dowel.png File:Cross dowel cutaway.png A cross dowel is a cylindrically shaped metal nut (i.e., a metal dowel) that is used to join two pieces of wood. Like other metal nuts, it has an inside threaded hole, although the hole is unusual in that it passes through the sides of the dowel. One or both ends of the dowel are slotted, with the slots oriented parallel to the threaded hole through which the bolt will pass. In a cross dowel application, the two pieces of wood are aligned and a bolt hole is drilled through one piece of wood and into the other. A dowel hole is drilled laterally across the bolt hole and the cross dowel is inserted into it. A screwdriver is inserted into the slot at the end of the cross dowel and the dowel is rotated so that its threaded hole aligns with the bolt hole. The bolt is then inserted into the bolt hole and screwed into the cross dowel until the wood pieces are held tightly together.

See also

* Butt joint * Rebar

References

Category:Fasteners Category:Joinery Category:Woodworking az:Çivi cs:Hmoždinka de:Dübel fr:Cheville (vis) it:Spina Dowel nl:Plug (verbinding) ja:ダボ pl:Kołek pt:Tarugo ru:Дюбель tl:Sabat tr:Dübel uk:Дюбель