Powder-actuated tool

A powder-actuated tool (often generically called a Hilti gun or a Ramset gun after their manufacturing companies) is a type of nail gun used in construction and manufacturing to join materials to hard substrates such as steel and concrete. Known as direct fastening, this technology relies on a controlled explosion created by a small chemical propellant charge, similar to the process that discharges a firearm. A powder-actuated tool (often generically called a Hilti gun or a Ramset gun after their manufacturing companies) is a type of nail gun used in construction and manufacturing to join materials to hard substrates such as steel and concrete. Known as direct fastening, this technology relies on a controlled explosion created by a small chemical propellant charge, similar to the process that discharges a firearm. Powder-actuated tools come in high-velocity and low-velocity types. In high-velocity tools, the propellant charge acts directly on the fastener in a process similar to a firearm. Low-velocity tools introduce a piston into the chamber. The propellant acts on the piston, which then drives the fastener into the substrate. (The piston is analogous to the bolt of a captive bolt pistol.) A tool is considered low velocity if the average test velocity of the fastener is not in excess of 100 m/s (330 ft/s) with no single test having a velocity of over 108 m/s (350 ft/s). High-velocity tools may not be made or sold in the United States; however, some made decades ago are still in use in the shipbuilding and steel industries. The main manufacturers of powder actuated tools are Ramset, Hilti, Powers/DeWalt, Tomarco and Simpson Strong Tie.