Quick Connectors
Quick connectors are devices that are used to join two or more pipes, hoses, or tubes together in order to prevent leaking or a drop in pressure. This is a general term that refers mainly to quick couplings and quick fittings, but it is used to refer to several other connector varieties as well.
Quick links to Quick Connectors Information
Applications of Quick Connectors
Because of the extensive use of quick couplings, fittings, and fasteners, quick connectors are found in a wide variety of applications and industries because they are fast, easy, and useful. Quick connect couplings are used in fuel transfer, automotive systems, and chemical processes, while quick connect fittings are helpful in agriculture, plumbing, and manufacturing, among other industries. Quick connect fasteners are used in repairs made in space, for example.
Quick Connector Design and Installation
Quick connectors can have a simple design and function, or they can be more complex. Some quick connectors are plugs while others are threaded or have rotating threaded sleeves. Other connectors snap onto the outside of the pipes, hoses, or tubes to avoid inhibiting the flow. A plug fitting is a small, open cylinder that wedges tightly in the ends of two pipes, hoses, or tubes and allows fluid to pass through. For a tighter connection with less leakage, a fitting might have multiple O-rings, a cap, collet, and body in an assembly where a pipe slides into the opening of the fitting and is held in place by a watertight seal.
Quick connect fasteners are different in appearance but similar to regular nuts, bolts, and screws in terms of strength and longevity. They are used to reinforce damaged structures or vessels and in environments where a maximum amount of work needs to be done in a short amount of time. Quick connect fasteners have simple installation but are securely attached and can only be removed by unscrewing them in the same manner as conventional nuts, bolts and screws.
Types of Quick Connectors
Different industries use varying terms to identify connectors, couplings, and fittings, so there are many similarities and overlapping areas. In the broadest definition, quick connectors are understood to be devices that attach to pipes, hoses, or tubes immediately and easily. They can be removed rapidly and are also called quick disconnects. These parts can be assembled and installed without the use of tools and are made of stainless steel, brass, aluminum, titanium, or plastic.
Quick connect couplings are mechanical devices that use seals and valves to permit easy and immediate connection or removal of air and fluid lines. Depending on the required seal and performance, couplings range from single-poppet valves to automatic mechanisms that breakaway if excessive force is applied.