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Smart Computing Article - The Facilitator: DirectX 7.0

January 2000 • Vol.8 Issue 1 Add To My Personal Library These Software Tools Work Behind The Scenes To Enhance Multimedia On Your System Microsoft's DirectX 7.0 can probably intensify your gaming experiences using the computer equipment you have—and emulating the hardware you don't have. Put simply, DirectX is a group of software tools (called an ) that helps developers craft multimedia programs such as Discreet 3D Studio Max or Diablo II, and then helps the programs run on any Windows 95- or 98-based computer. You won't see or hear much about it, but the applications and games you run and the Web sites you visit may all make use of DirectX as they need it. There are scores of video,
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Riveters and Riveting Machines
Riveters and riveting machines insert fasteners through aligned holes in parts to be joined, then press or hammer them from the insertion side to provide the second retaining head. 
Rivets
Rivets are headed pins with a point that passes through two pieces of material. Beating or pressing down the point causes it to spread out and form a second head. Rivets can be used to connect two plates or pieces of material together.
Industrial Pins
Industrial pins are varieties of fastening hardware meant to couple, align, mount, assemble, or penetrate two workpieces. The operation of the pin depends on design and employment, but industrial pins can be categorized into several categories, such as: hitch and linch pins; cotter pins and wire clips; spring pins; locating and fixturing pins; and specialty pins.
Nuts

Nuts are a type of hardware fastener with a tapped inner diameter. They are used with a mating threaded bolt or rod to secure components. There are many sizes and varieties of nuts; each with a particular fastening purpose. Some nuts can be applied without tools, and others may have special designs to prevent the nut from loosening.

Bolts
A bolt is a type of threaded hardware fastener that is used to position two workpieces in specific relation to each other. A bolt is specifically designed to be used with a mating, internally threaded hole or nut, which will maintain the bolt's alignment as well as the material's position on the bolt. While used synonymously, screws and bolts are not mechanical clones.
Topics of Interest

There are several techniques for joining plastic parts. Equipment cost and labor for each method vary considerably. Most techniques have limits on the sizes and types of plastic that can be joined.

Rivets and pins can be used as inexpensive alternatives to threaded fasteners in automated assembly. Pins are used where ease of disassembly is desired, while disassembly usually destroys rivets.

Engineers use a "nut factor" to relate a bolt's installation torque to the tension on it. But they need to understand the friction-related variables that contribute to the nut factor to...

What Designers Should Know About Blind Rivets Blind rivets, or breakstems, provide vibrationproof fastening for a wide variety of materials. But designers must know at least the basics before...

Parts can be fastened by a rivet if flat parallel surfaces exist for both the rivet clinch and head, and there is adequate space for the rivet driver during clinching. When a blind rivet is set, a...