Toggle Bolts
A toggle bolt, also known as a butterfly anchor, is a fastener for hanging things on hollow walls such as drywall. Toggle bolts have wings that open inside a hollow wall, bracing against it to hold the fastener securely. The wings are much larger than the bolt they are attached to. This spreads the weight of the secured item over a larger area, increasing the weight that can be secured compared to a regular bolt.
Hollow Wall Anchors
A hollow wall anchor is a fastener with an expandable sleeve that slides into a hole drilled into the wall. A lip wider than the hole prevents it from falling behind the wall. A machine screw is then screwed into the sleeve, causing the anchor to bend, expand, spread and grip against the inside of the drywall. Hollow wall anchors come in various diameters and "grip lengths" for different drywall thicknesses and to support different loads.
Wedge Anchors
Wedge anchors, also known as expansion bolts and expansion anchors, secure themselves using a mechanical wedging effect at the end of the fastener. There are three basic styles of wedge anchors: fully threaded, partial threaded and the full-bodied wedge anchor. As shown in the figure, tightening the bolt results in a wedge being driven up against a sleeve. This jams the end of the bolt, and provides the strength. Many different manufacturers provide a variation on this theme, usually depending on the condition of the concrete, and the type of load. If a mechanical anchor fails, it is usually in the form of pulling out a wedge of concrete, and for this reason, proper design looks at the depth of embedment and ensures that the bolts are not spaced too closely.
Plastic Anchors
A plastic anchor is an insert used to enable the attachment of a screw in material that is porous or brittle that would otherwise not support the weight of the object attached with the screw. There are many forms of wall plugs, but the most common principle is to use a tapered tube of soft material, such as plastic. This is inserted loosely into a drilled hole, then a screw is tightened into the center. As the screw enters the plug, the soft material of the plug expands conforming tightly to the wall material. Such anchors can attach one object to another in situations where screws, nails, adhesives, or other simple fasteners are either impractical or ineffective. Different types have different levels of strength and can be used on different types of surfaces.
E-Z Anchors from ITW Buildex
E-Z Ancors are a line of self-drilling drywall anchors from ITW Buildex that allows for hanging items of up to 100 lbs. The E-Z Ancor line consists of Twist-N-Lock™anchors made from fiber-reinforced resin, Stud Solver® zinc anchors and Toggle Lock™toggle bolts.
KapToggle® Hollow Wall Anchor
KapToggle anchors can be installed by anyone in seconds. KapToggle locks in place permitting fixtures to be installed or removed over and over without losing the toggle.
Concrete Screw Anchors
Concrete screw anchors can be used in permanent or temporary applications, including screw anchors which can be used in solid brick and hollow-core slabs. Some of the most popular concrete screw anchors, from brands like Powers, Hilti and DeWALT are tested and approved for use in cracked concrete. Concrete screw anchors are one of the most common fasteners used in glazing and curtainwall.