So you need to drive a metric screw into plastic, wood or sheet metal, but there isn’t a threaded hole where you’d normally need one? Well, if you have the right screw, there’s no need to spend valuable time setting up a tap to create female-threaded holes precisely mated to the screws you want to use. A thread-forming screw will make its own threads as you drive it into the material. Problem solved!
How do thread-forming screws work? Thread-forming screws and thread-cutting screws are two varieties of a category known as self-tapping screws — that is to say, screws that basically force the substrate to mate with their threads. But unlike thread-cutting screws, which remove bits of the material as they carve their way into the substrate, thread-forming screws deform the material, bending it into a mating position without actually removing any of it. The type of screw you require depends mainly on the type of material that will be wrapping itself around the threads. At Mr. Metric they offer metric thread-forming screws suitable for either plastic and wood substrates or for sheet metal, tubular metal and other lightweight metals.
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Solving fastening problems is about controlling variables or eliminating potential causes that create an unwanted fastening event. Let’s take a look at common unwanted fastening events. Cross threading, thread or component stripping, unseated fasteners, missing screw, nut or bolt (omissions) these are all evident events of failure that we can see with our eyes. Thank goodness for our eyesight, because these are easily recognized. Fastening problems that we cannot see are our biggest risk. Latent failure can be a big problem depending on the product or exposure to risk or liability. Latent failure is caused not only by under torque, but largely by over torque events. Most all of us have opened a product package and discovered a screw or nut that came loose in transit. We might have also found one on the floorboard of our car. Many times these screws or nuts are not critical, they may come from the exterior of a product. However, they still concern us. They should. It makes us wonder if something more critical might also fail. Every time we find one of these rogue fasteners something did not go as planned, thus a torque related problem or unwanted fastening event has occurred. These occurrences are frustrating, time consuming and many times create delay and cost. You can get rid of them!
Let’s not overcomplicate things when we study fastening variables. In our experience there is only a handful of really complicated fastening problems and most of our customers don’t experience many of these all that often. Generally, it is a simple set of variables that need to be discovered, isolated and removed to solve fastening related headaches. It’s important to thoroughly investigate in a scientific manner what may be wrong with the fastening scenario. More important is not to freak out and think that everything is wrong, and try to change too many things too fast. The process of elimination is a great tool for solving fastening failure. Fasteners are generally made to a specification that defines physical criteria. The information is public and validating dimensions is not hard. You can do it on line or in most any hand book.
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A heater manufacturing company was experiencing improper torque control, which was costing them money in rework time and product being damaged by the assembly tools that they were using on the production floor. The heater manufacturer assembles floorboard heaters and in-wall bathroom heaters for residential construction. A deformation with the coated sheet metal used to house the heating element in the floorboard unit occurred during the fastening process.
The production manager started a root cause analysis program to eliminate this costly production problem. They started to test the process and determine what was causing the issue. Using a torque analyzer system they did some destructive testing. They wanted to first determine “at what torque value” that was applied during the fastening process would cause the deformation in the product’s coated sheet metal.
Once the proper torque value was determined for the product, they next examined the pneumatic tools being used in the assembly process. The pneumatic torque screwdrivers were set once every six months or at the time of purchase at a preset torque value. This torque value, however, was derived from a chart supplied by the fastener manufacturer, which was at 80% of the fastener yield value. The torque value did not account for the material the fastener was clamping together, which was causing product deformation, paint chipping, increased rework, and decreased their productivity.
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Posted by Mountz Torque
April 23rd, 2013
0 Comments
Crafted with a lightweight durable carbon fiber, the EZ-Slider torque arm slides up and down and provides X & Y axis mobility. A Gliding Rail System, an accessory product by Mountz, allows the EZ-Slider torque arm the freedom to travel horizontally (side to side) on a production floor. Combining these two items together allows a manufacture the ability to set-up a “Slide & Glide” movement with the EZ-Slider. The Mountz torque arm is an ideal ergonomic solution for multi-tool applications such as a moving production line where balancers are fixed to a trolley system.
The EZ-Slider torque arms are designed to improve production and quality control during the assembly process. The ergonomic design of the EZ-Slider torque arm reduces RMI (repetitive motion injury) and CTS (carpal tunnel syndrome). The effortless handling of the torque arm provides comfortable tool operation and increased production. The Mountz torque arm eliminates torque reaction of power and pneumatic tools.
When planning a production area, it pays dividends for manufacturers in the long term to plan the ergonomics of the operation and consult a health and safety inspector or ergonomic manager. Ensuring both the workplace and the assembly operation are compatible with the majority of operators that handle the assembly tools, reduces future costs arising from work-related health disorders among operators, along with costs arising from poor product quality.
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