EuroWire May 2021

Manufacturing Technology

Vibration testing innovation

▼ Model 208

Junker testing machine with bolt connection specimen

Bolted connections can bear significant responsibility, such as in railway or aeronautical engineering. The Junker test is a preferred quality assurance method to determine what a bolted connection can withstand and howmuch time will pass before it loosens. The test is particularly used to measure the service life of a bolted connection under dynamic transverse load. However, the established method has weaknesses. For example, it has only been possible in a vibration test stand to adjust the transverse stroke without specimen before the test. During the test, the actual resulting stroke declines because the bolted connection is tightened. If the bolt then loosens during the test, the stroke continues to change. In the field, it is ultimately the forced transverse stroke that leads to the loosening of bolt connections. To enable a more differentiated test setup, the new TesT 208.200kN allows control of the transverse stroke in a closed loop as required, during the running test. The transverse displacement amplitude can be kept constant, and any desired ramps or other sequences can be simulated. This product innovation anticipates the new aviation standard ISO 16130, which describes amplitude regulation during the execution of experiments as preferred. It meets DIN 65151, DIN 25201-4 and DIN 16130, and can be used to test all elements of bolt connections and locking systems. TesT GmbH www.test-gmbh.com

Copyright TesT GmbH

Custom engineering for OEMs looking to onshore manufacturing

Optimas Solutions, an industrial manu- facturer/distributor and service provider, has enhanced its standing in the fastener supply chain by changing the way manufacturers improve product design, streamline production and increase efficiency with new onshore custom and collaborative design engineering capabilities in the USA. It claims to be the only fastener company in the USA and the UK that offers advanced cold forming manufacturing and global supply chain distribution offerings. In 2020, it announced a strategy to emphasise its manufacturing services. As part of the plan, Optimas is investing in custom engineering solutions designed to reduce time, cost and waste in fastener manufacturing, to help manufacturers more easily regionalise or re-shore to the USA. “We have always worked closely with our customers, but we are finding they want more of our direct involvement in improving product design and their manufacturing processes,” said Marc

Strandquist, CEO of Optimas Solutions. “Our engineers have years of hands-on experience specifically within the fastener application and manufacturing arenas. This allows our teamto quickly understand US and UK customer challenges and work with them onshore to develop solutions that improve product design and manufacturing processes.” A Gartner, Inc survey of 260 global supply chain leaders in February and March 2020 found that a quarter of survey respondents stated that they have already regionalised or localised manufacturing to be closer to demand. Optimas has invested more than $10mn in its US cold forming manufacturing capabilities over the last few years, principally at its facility in Wood Dale, Illinois, to further elevate its onshore manufacturing solutions. Advancements within its engineering solutions (3D printing with plastic, carbon and steel, rapid prototyping, design software and cold forming equipment)

have allowed it to better leverage its manufacturing capacity for supply chain, operations and procurement professionals who are responsible for fastener acquisition and usage. In-house application and manufacturing engineers enable Optimas to be a one- stop shop for customers to design and produce fasteners. Cold form engineered services offer custom large-scale product production for flexibility in fastener manufacturing, in diameters from M2 to M22. The company has 106 dedicated machines – 43 cold headers and 42 thread rollers, plus shavers, trimmers, and pointing, slotting and drilling equipment. Optimas has strategic local partners for heat treating, plating, coating, patching and other secondary processes, as well as partnerships with 11 licensed brands known for thread-forming and drive solutions that also include weight- and height-saving solutions.

Optimas Solutions https://optimas.com

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May 2021