What is a “1/4 Turn” fastener?
A 1/4 turn fastener is a fastener that only requires 1/4 of a turn (90 degrees) to go from fully unlocked position to fully locked position. It works on a principle of using a stud that has two 45-degree grooves on the outer perimeter of the stud. These grooves move in a spiral shape around the outside of the stud from the tip toward the head of the stud. The two spiral grooves toward the end of their travel, lose their slope and become perpendicular to the sides of the stud. At the end of each groove there is a slightly recessed half circle countersink bucket. Once the stud is inserted into a receptacle, two protrusions (pins) from the receptacle ride in the 45-degree grooves. After the pins move up the spiral grooves, they fall into the countersink buckets. It takes 90 degrees or 1/4 of a turn of the stud for the pins to travel along the grooves to reach the countersink buckets and lock, hence the name “1/4 Turn Fasteners”. Since at that the end of the their travel, the grooves are p
