Fasteners usually are a low priority Category C handling event in purchasing. Still, if you don’t use them properly, they can result in product complexity and wasted inventory. Also, you will have higher project costs in the future. Industrial fasteners have a huge and complex global market, and demand rises annually. Stainless fastener suppliers help produce better results if you know some of the essential traits you buy. They are the parts that hold everything together and are practical for every industrial sector application. Without them, everything from cell phones to chairs to cars and furnishings would break.
Here are five things you should be aware of before buying fasteners.
1. The fastener’s raw material
It is essential to consider raw materials, especially strength, brittleness, and corrosion resistance. Moreover, it is a major concern for people who consider cost.
About 90% of its production contains carbon and stainless steel, which help make raw materials. The automobile sector also prefers steel, stainless steel, and plastic fasteners. Steel is becoming increasingly popular because of its high degree of plasticity, durability, and tensile strength. Although corrosion resistance makes stainless steel appealing, it cannot be as hard as hardened Grade 5 and Grade 8 variants.
Silicon bronze (Bronze) is most commonly present in marine environments. Its alloy has a higher level of corrosion resistance than stainless steel and is more durable in marine engineering than brass. On the other hand, stainless fastener suppliers’ raw materials of Bronze can be expensive, implying that it has limited applications.
Individuals also prefer brass and aluminum. Although they are softer than the materials listed earlier, they exhibit high corrosion resistance. Brass is for appealing appearance, although aluminum is commonly employed when weight is a critical detail in technical criteria.
2. Coating of fasteners
The two main uses of coatings are to enhance or improve corrosion resistance and for aesthetic and decorative objectives. The three most typical coatings are zinc, hot-dip galvanizing, and chromium.
Galvanizing offers superior corrosion resistance in most situations. However, it is susceptible to rusting if the coating is exposed to moisture and extended immersion in water.
It is covered in a thick layer of zinc, thanks to the plating. As a result, there is greater corrosion resistance. However, the coating thickness is unsuitable for galvanized bolts or ordinary nuts.
In some applications, chrome plating treats as an aesthetic element in addition to its utility in preventing corrosion. While offering a higher quality surface, chrome plating delivers corrosion resistance comparable to zinc. Further, it is typically for the desired polish finish.
3. Types of Fasteners
The most typical include bolts, screws, nuts, washers, clips, and pins, though there are wide other varieties.
Each category has various applications that can call for creating a new one. For instance, it’s crucial to know the type of head needed when purchasing screws (flat, pan, truss head, etc.). Each category serves a specific objective.
You can opt to develop your standard products or create custom ones. Also, it is best to serve your needs among these several commodities.
Both strategies have benefits and drawbacks. The off-the-shelf parts can be cheaper but may not be an excellent fit for your needs. However, engineering guarantees that parts fulfill the required specs but are more expensive.
There are engineering and supply chain units to limit the number of them. You need to look approved list before developing new products to save factory inventory and increase usability.
4. Fastener Sizing
The source of your fastening tool will also depend on its size, another distinguishing element. It frequently creates capabilities in specific size ranges, such as M6 or larger and M5 or smaller, because different size ranges require distinct pieces of equipment.
What does “M” stand for in screw size? The “M” is the main or nominal diameter, which measures the screw’s most outwardly protruding portion. However, there are many additional measurements, including length, pitch, and thread size. It is typically the measurement used to identify the general scope of a screw.
5. Source of fasteners
You can purchase it from various sources, as opposed to just the manufacturer, unlike many other components. The latter option can be helpful if you want specialized or have a huge volume and low diversity needs. However, suppose you need more fastener kinds and sizes in the medium or low volume range.
In that case, wholesalers may be able to provide you with a better deal. Many manufacturers may refuse to sell lower volume packages directly to their customers.
Therefore, most of us can make a good decision by dealing directly with the factory. Also, it gives the shifting attitudes of individual manufacturers—further a better understanding of customer needs and a significantly higher feeling of service than before.
When buying from various manufacturers, wholesalers might also be advantageous in logistics. In this instance, the distributor handles all the logistics for obtaining good parts, leaving the customer to simply take the delivery of the components from the distributor.
Use a supply chain approach based on the five aspects and concentrate on the actual cost of it. Please buy it from supply chain experts, unlock tremendous value for their organizations and create a competitive edge.
Moreover, the complexity, inventories, and cost will reduce if you know about it.
Conclusion
Today, many different fasteners make production much easier. However, choosing the proper one for the job in light of our industry’s characteristics and application scenarios is getting harder. In this post, we offer some recommendations to assist clients in making the best decision.
