What is a rivet?

Fasteners used to connect more than one piece together are called rivets.

A rivet is a fastener used to join two or more materials together. Unlike a screw, the parts to be joined do not need to be threaded; so even very thin materials can be joined using rivets. The advantage over bolt and nut is that you can complete the assembly process without reaching the back side of the materials to be joined; this is why it is often called a "blind rivet".