Shooting Blind

Threaded inserts aid attachment of skill games 

Many of the skill games at amusement parks and arcades are built with a tubular steel frame, where accessibility to install fastening hardware is limited to one side. Assembly of these frames with tapped holes, weld nuts rivets and self-drilling or tapping screws would require more than one pair of hands to accomplish the job. Additionally, these games are subject to vibration during shipping as well as during game play.

Skee-Ball Inc, Phoenix, AZ, specified SpinTite blind threaded inserts from Atlas Engineering, Kent, OH, to satisfy their requirements. On the Super Shot basketball model, for example, the game’s wooden side panels, wooden basketball flooring, front display and other components all attach to 1-3/4-in. steel framework. Type AEL inserts in thread sizes #10-24 and 1/4-20 are used, depending on their location, in the frame. Since the inserts in the Super Shot application are designed with low-profile heads, near-flush installation is achieved. These blind threaded inserts feature a rib wall to offer high all-around strength. The inserts install quickly and easily into 0.63-in. thick steel tubes during frame fabrication, and the entire framework is subsequently powder coated. With the fastener partially threaded onto the mandrel of a special pneumatic spin tool, it is then inserted into a pre-drilled hole in the tubing and drawn in to compress the unthreaded portion of the fastener wall. The resulting bulge presses against the steel tubing and creates a clamping force for a tight grip. The insert is then permanently in place to accept a mating screw for final attachment.

“These inserts speed our production and make the most efficient use of our workers,” says Bill Bing, vice president and general manager of Skee-Ball. “Only one screw is needed at each attachment point to complete the assembly and only one pair of hands is required for the job. This would not be the case with other fastening methods where loose hardware would have to be handled at spots virtually impossible for one person alone to reach. Drilling, tapping or other operations are simply too time-consuming.”

—SG

For more information:

Circle 336—Atlas Engineering, or connect directly to their website via the Online Reader Service Program at www.RSLeads.com/?112df-336