EuroFasteners November 2023

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Industry and technology news from the world of fasteners

ISSN: 2633-9706 print

ISSN: 2633-9714 online Photo by: farkas mario, Unsplash

Contents November 2023

Diary of events

3-5 October 2023 wire South America Trade exhibition São Paulo, Brazil Organisers: Fiera Milano Brasil https://wiresa.com.br 8-11 January 2024 Steel Fab Trade exhibition Sharjah, UAE Organisers: Expo Centre Sharjah www.steelfabme.com 6-8 March 2024 AMI Cables Trade exhibition Cologne, Germany Organisers: AMI www.ami-events.com 25-28 March 2024 Global Industrie Trade exhibition Paris, France Organisers: Global Industrie www.global-industrie.com 15-19 April 2024 wire Düsseldorf Trade exhibition Düsseldorf, Germany Organisers: Messe Düsseldorf GmbH www.wire.de

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Corporate News

Products

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15-19 April 2024 MACH 2024

Trade exhibition Birmingham, UK

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Organisers: The Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) www.machexhibition.com

Shows correct at time of publication, please check to ensure the event is going ahead

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Corporate News

Ultrasonic welding

Fastener manufacturer selected for demanding ultrasonic welding application

such as 20,000 vibrations per second. The high fatigue strength that Bumax screws offer is central to their ability to withstand a high number of cycles without fracture. All Bumax bolts are made with high quality European steel, and the advanced manufacturing processes result in further enhance- ment of the material’s fatigue-resistance properties. Fatigue fracture often begins with a stress concentration such as inclusions, slags or surface defects. The raw materials Bumax uses, together with the metallurgical processes and surface properties, ensure the fatigue strength. Bumax also uses rolled threads rather than cut threads, which further increases fatigue resistance. Bumax AB www.bumax-fasteners.com

by heat generated by friction when applying high-frequency ultrasonic vibrational energy. “Standard steel bolts simply cannot cope with the extreme pulling and bending forces of ultrasonic vibration, so we had to find a bolt that does,” said Stefan Mueller, head of R&D at Schunk Sonosystems. “Of all the screws we tested, only Bumax met all our needs. Not only are Bumax consistent in how they perform and do not break, they last the lifetime of the sonotrode without problem, are not creating abrasion dust on the screw head and do not require rust protection.” The Bumax DX 129 (duplex stainless steel) offers high tensile strengths of minimum 1,200 MPa and fatigue resistance properties. It can handle the extreme forces of ultrasonic welding,

German maker Schunk Sonosystems has opted to use Bumax DX 129 screws for all of its ultrasonic welding flexure sonotrode products, to improve quality and reliability. The machines are mainly used in the automobile industry. Schunk Sonosystems develops and builds machines for ultrasonic metal welding. The machines include a sonotrode or welding tip that transfers vibrational energy to the workpiece. Up to two high-strength bolts are required to fix the sonotrode, which is subject to extreme levels of vibration due to the very high frequency used in ultrasonic welding. Ultrasonic welding is a solid-state welding process that uses ultrasonic vibrations to weld pieces of metal together. The metals are welded together specialist machine

Graphics bigstockphoto.com/Artist tereh

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Corporate News

Special fasteners processed in vacuum furnace A plant producing advanced fasteners for manufacturers in the aerospace industry has ordered a Vector® vacuum furnace from Seco/Warwick. The furnace will be delivered in a standard configuration and will meet the global aviation industry’s highest requirements. purity of the gas used during the process. Vector also features a partial pressure control system that helps prevent evaporation and sublimation of alloying elements from the load surface during the vacuum heat treatment.

“Our Vector furnace is perfectly suited to meet the fastener heat treatment challenges, while meeting all required aviation standards,” said Maciej Korecki, vice president of the vacuum furnace segment at Seco/Warwick. “The heating process for these materials requires extraordinary purity, which is why the presence of two gases is important: argon – used for partial pressure, and nitrogen – used mainly in the cooling process. The customer required a very short cooling cycle, which is achieved with a 15 bar ABS gas blower. These are the Vector vacuum furnace standard features.” The furnace is equipped with a dew point sensor for each of the gases. The system solves one of heat treatment’s critical requirements: to control the quality/

Vacuum furnaces use vacuum (created by air evacuation) as the protective atmosphere for the heat-treated part surfaces. Their main advantages are their versatility and the ability to carry out processes traditionally carried out in atmospheric furnaces. Differences in the vacuum furnace construction as well as the method of conducting the processes minimises both media consumption and emissions to the environment. Seco/Warwick SA www.secowarwick.com

The machine will process self-locking nuts, nut plates, barrel nuts, stud nuts, spline nuts and clamp nuts, as well as a wide range of washers and flanges. The Italian partner is an innovator in the field of comprehensive fastening solutions, and the Vector furnace will become part of a modern production plant. The furnace on order is a standard solution suited to aviation industry needs, and operates at temperatures up to 1,300°C.

Fastenal selects ZEVX for trial to electrify trucks Fastenal Company has selected ZEVX™, a specialist in electric vehicle (EV) systems, for an operational trial to convert pickup trucks in its fleet to EVs. delivery fleet,” said Sydney Dunn, SVP of sales and field operations at ZEVX. “We share the bold goals of lowering carbon emissions while improving efficiencies, decreasing costs and extending the life of existing commercial vehicles.” “We’re constantly looking at new solutions like the ZEVX technology to help move the industry forward and potentially accelerate our own carbon reduction journey.”

“We are committed to helping Fastenal incorporate EV technology in its last-mile

With a proof-of-concept stage complete, the company will now conduct a six-state trial utilising the ZEVX premier battery electric powertrain and power system products to re-power up to 16 Fastenal vehicles in 2023.

ZEVX has a series of battery electric powertrain and power system products that quickly migrate Class 2 to 5 commercial fleet assets and auxiliary power systems to zero carbon. of transportation, said, “With so many vehicles in operation around the world, we want to be a driver of innovation and efficiency in commercial transportation. Larson, Fastenal’s VP

Fastenal fleet vehicles in the trial will be converted to EVs

Kevin Fastenal Company www.fastenal.com ZEVX, Inc https://zevx.com MW expands products through Elgin acquisition

customers in more than 75 countries with a variety of metal component products, including springs, fasteners, bellows, couplings and shims. The companies’ combined capabilities will position MW Components to provide custom manufacturing services to a worldwide customer base. MW Components www.mwcomponents.com

“Elgin Fastener Group is uniquely positioned to grow the MW Components portfolio of brands,” said Simon Newman, CEO of MW Components. “Together, we are one of the largest suppliers of fasteners in the United States, offering both highly engineered custom fasteners as well as in-stock and ready-to-ship parts for a wide variety of industries.” Elgin Fasteners is a single-source supplier of speciality fasteners with seven locations and a product breadth spanning fasteners to wire forms. The combined company will support

MW Components, a provider of precision components, has announced the acquisition of Elgin Fastener Group. The acquisition closed on 8 September 2023 and expands MW Components’ existing US-based manufacturing locations to provide fasteners and metal components for global distribution. The combined company will offer a comprehensive set of speciality fasteners, including custom fasteners such as nuts, bolts, rivets and screws, along with an extensive catalogue of in-stock components.

Elgin Fastener Group www.elginfasteners.com

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Corporate News

Multi-faceted screw manufacturer installs VisionLabs

VisionLab uses General Inspection’s patented 3D gauging technology to provide complete part dimensional layouts in less than five seconds. 360° dimensional inspection with detailed data reporting, plus options to provide 360° visual defect detection and end view inspection, and to measure recess depth and recess concentricity. The screw manufacturer’s goal was to reduce inspection time, improve quality and cut down on calibration costs by replacing multiple manual gauges, such as micrometers, calipers and optical comparators. VisionLab quickly completes first-piece inspections, allowing employees to concentrate on production tasks instead of measuring parts. The machine can perform be used to resize the existing part and modify it. In a short time, and through collaboration, this was improved and a “sweet spot” in the tightness of the shank was achieved. Under normal usage testing, the rivet was pushed into the fixture TR had provided, and removed using a standard screwdriver. This was repeated eight times, then the insertion force of the ninth time pressing fixture and the pulling force when forced out. In wall mount passing test under the weight of 15.0KGF tested for 24 hours, the screws remained tight in place. Kevin Rogers, TR Fastenings global director of plastics and rubber commodity, said, “As part of the testing process, a formal audit partner was brought in; application tests including push-in force, pull-out force, individual cavity inspection, fail tests, shear strength testing and others were all carried out. I invited the customer’s senior engineer, who happened to be based only 30 minutes away from our vendor’s factory in China. The plan was to show him the design process and summary to date, all of which was prepared in advance by our vendor for the day in question.

One of the largest construction screw manufacturers in the USA has added multiple VisionLab 3D fastener gauging systems from General Inspection, LLC to streamline its first-part inspection pro cesses. Locations in Illinois and Kentucky are utilising VisionLabs to measure perti nent features on construction, concrete and drywall screws for greater accuracy and time savings.

VisionLab 75

The company has found that production has increased, errors have been eliminated and it is able to measure with greater frequency. All dimensions, including high/low threads, lengths, diameters, radii, angles and GD&T features, are measured and displayed with a pass/fail indication. Custom data reports are created and saved as CSV or Excel files. Parts are accurately measured to within two microns. Part feature tolerances are assigned with the appropriate part number and stored in memory for quick recall. General Inspection, LLC https://geninsp.com

The system is being used by a major US construction screw manufacturer

Push screw solution for monitor mounting brackets

The changing world of home working, hot desking and the need for two screen displays has seen changes in how devices are positioned in the workspace. One global monitor manufacturer had a requirement for a small but strong fixing solution that enabled easier assembly. The company required a bespoke solution to launch a new product as well as enhance its range of mini-PC screen stands. It approached TR Fastenings to help create more effective fasteners for its mounting brackets when it could not find a solution to attach a stand that would be reusable. After consultation with TR, it became clear that it needed a product that was beyond what was currently available in the market. The identified requirements were an insertion force of 35N (to prevent RSI), an extraction force of a minimum of 90N (in order to remain secure), and the ability to be unscrewed repeatedly without wearing down. In early design phase, it was a concern that the pull-out force required to remove the screw from above the unit would be too weak. The question was raised as to how additional tooling could

TR Fastenings developed a bespoke fastener solution for monitor mounting brackets

“We worked on their production line to see the final design running live and took samples from the line for inspection. Whilst this was being done, a team of engineers was busily conducting a full PPAP, which was presented in the afternoon. Upon asking the customer’s engineer for his decision he commented, ‘How can I possibly reject a presentation and product like this? I have never seen such an efficient, well-prepared and -executed product audit in all my years as an engineer’, at which point the green light was given.” TR Fastenings www.trfastenings.com

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Products

FX 3-A Cordless stud fusion system

Steel fastening with cordless stud fusion system

expect consistency with repeatable fastenings. The Active Fusion Indicator (AFI) gives the installer real-time feedback to help improve the quality of fastening. “The new FX 3-A Cordless stud fusion system is a game-changing departure from how the industry currently approaches fastening on steel – it helps to save time and resources while increasing reliability and safety,” said Norbert Tiringer, Hilti North America’s director of marketing for energy and industry. “This system’s simplicity will also help free up skilled labour to focus on more complex tasks without compromising on this step of construction.” Hilti, Inc www.hilti.com

ment and construction. When com bined with modular systems like Hilti’s MT or Oglaend portfolios, the new fastening method enables greater use of supports. This is a result of the stronger connection to steel, which is often the weak point of supports with other methods. Studs are available with international approvals and corrosion resistance (up to C5 in highly corrosive environments). Hilti states that the system gives customers more flexibility and more capacity to finish work earlier. It is also a cleaner system, with no welding slag, burn marks or ceramic ring waste. When using an optional sealing washer with S-BT-MR SN threaded stud, post painting is not required. With the easier to-follow H-code setting customers can

Hilti North America, a provider of tools, technology, software and services to the commercial construction industry, has developed the FX 3-A Cordless stud fusion system for fastening on steel. The new system covers higher loads and thinner base materials than previous Hilti products. The fast and fully mobile and autonomous system needs no power cables. The fastening method helps shield users from heat and gas. With virtually no sparks, splatters or fumes and no angle grinder needed for the surface preparation, it also offers advantages from a health and safety perspective. Compared to welding and other meth ods such as bolting and clamping, cord less stud fusion allows more speed and flexibility in engineering, procure

Graphics bigstockphoto.com/Artistnd 3000

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Products

Mounting collars and couplings for hospital and rehabilitation equipment

requirements, Stafford shaft collars and couplings are offered in standard metric and inch sizes from 1/8" to 10" ID (couplings to 6" ID) to precisely match different shafts and positive drive systems. Bores can include hex, square, round, keyed and a variety of threaded types. Stafford Manufacturing Corp www.staffordmfg.com

physical therapy devices, wheelchairs and trolleys. Featuring set collars, clamp type and hinge collars along with couplings, shaft extenders and other adjustment devices, they are robust and precise, to ensure that components are properly aligned. Available in a wide range of anodised aluminium colours to match branding

A full line of shaft collars, mounting collars, couplings and related com- ponents for use in a wide range of hospital and rehabilitation equipment has been introduced by Stafford Manufacturing Corp. Stafford shaft collars and couplings are offered in aluminium, steel and stain- less steel for use in rehabilitation equipment such as exercise machines,

Safeguarding bridge infrastructure with security fasteners

The five-lobe pin fasteners were selected for enhanced security level (rated level 2) and their drive/tooling, which is manufactured for precision high-torque

Bridges are more than just concrete and steel structures: they connect communities, facilitate commerce and contribute to the overall infrastructure of a region. Ensuring their longevity, safety and functionality is of great importance. One often overlooked aspect of bridge maintenance and security is the use of security fasteners. For the Golden Jubilee footbridge over the Thames in London, UK, Hafren Fasteners five-lobe pin security fasteners were used to secure steel footplates that protect sensitive electrical equipment for lighting systems.

Hafren’s five-lobe pin product range

translates to longer intervals between maintenance activities and fewer replacements. The enhanced security provided by these fasteners minimises unauthorised access and tampering, preventing removal or tampering of key components such as lighting, hand/guard rails and electrical components. As a result, the overall lifespan of the bridge and its components is extended. The reduction in the frequency of main- tenance and replacement activities also contributes to a smaller environmental footprint: fewer materials are consumed, and less energy is expended in the production, transportation and instal- lation of replacement parts. Bridges often house valuable equip- ment such as electrical components and monitoring systems that are susceptible to theft and vandalism, which can disrupt operations and compromise safety. Security fasteners act as a deterrent to unauthorised access, safeguarding valuable equipment and preventing potential disruptions. Hafren Fasteners www.hafrenfasteners.com

applications. The range was also chosen for its high corrosion resistance, due to being stocked in A4-70 stainless steel, which offers corrosion resistance even in marine environments. Traditional fasteners are susceptible to tampering, corrosion and wear, leading to frequent maintenance and replacement cycles. Hafren Security Fasteners, designed with tamper resistant features and durable materials, are more resistant to these issues. This

The Golden Jubilee footbridge in London

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Products

Metal-detectable cable tie compounds to streamline supply chain

Constant force extension springs are produced from flat strip material and coiled using proprietary processes to a definite curvature, in order to provide the required force output. The springs can offer long linear deflections and unique force characteristics, with constant rate, positive rate or negative rate over the working deflection. There is practically no limit to the rate of extension or acceleration, and the springs can be attached and partially or fully extended in a variety of ways. The springs are typically mounted so that the coil body is fixed but free to rotate material performs as intended right out of the box.” Both the United States and the European Union have strict performance requirements for materials used in and around food and drug processing facilities. As a PA66 producer, Ascend ensures the consistent dispersion of the metal additive within the polymer matrix so that even small metal particles are clearly visible and identified with standard detection equipment. In tests with varying-sized cable tie fragments added to cereal flakes, even the smallest fragment was reliably detected using X-ray imaging with a micro-focus tube at 60kV and 0.3mA.

Alcomex Springs is offering its expertise in the constant force spring – a solution that is more compact and lighter than many other methods of return or retraction, making it suitable for a range of industries. The constant force spring is designed to provide a smooth and constant load over its entire length of travel, eliminating the need for dead weights, linkages, cylinders and other systems. This feature alone can decrease the size and cost of devices, making it an option for manufacturers looking to optimise their products. Ascend Performance Materials has launched pre-coloured, metal-detectable Vydyne® PA66 compounds for cable ties and fasteners, for industries where foreign object contamination causes health concerns and reputational damage, such as in pharmaceutical and food processing facilities. The new products meet stringent performance standards and simplify the supply chain for cable tie and fastener producers. “We constantly look for ways to better serve our customers,” said Tim Goossens, cable tie segment leader for Ascend. “This new metal-detectable Vydyne reduces the need for additional tolling or masterbatch steps and ensures the

The new compounds provide safety against contamination in cable tie applications

Metal-detectable Vydyne materials are globally available and offered in two blue-coloured grades with high- and low impact strength. In addition to cable ties and fasteners, both grades target safety-critical applications in other sensitive market segments, such as machined plastic stock shapes, and any consumables that require HACCP-managed food safety. Ascend Performance Materials www.ascendmaterials.com

Technical advantages of constant force springs

(either on a shaft or in a slot) and the outer end of the coil is deflected. Alternatively the outer end of the coil can be fixed, while the coil body is deflected. Alcomex constant force springs and assemblies are used in applications across various industries. For example, for the aeronautics industry the company develops jet and cargo door opening and closing assistance systems, which are critical for ensuring the safety and efficiency of air travel. In the green energy sector, the company is working on cable retraction assistance solutions for electric vehicle chargers, enabling more convenient and efficient charging. It also provides solutions for the POS, defence, equipment and health industries, among others. Alcomex is able to produce custom springs and sub-assemblies tailored to meet specific needs. Its team of experts is ready to collaborate with clients, providing guidance and support in developing solutions. Alcomex Springs www.alcomexsprings.com

Constant force extension springs

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