Auteur/autrice : 工集君

Fasteners are the components used to connect or join two or more objects. They help make a permanent or temporary, yet strong connection between two objects.  As the years passed fasteners have been updated with the latest technological advancements. Fasteners used today are significantly different from those used several years back. The fastener technology has seen a lot of advancements and has many advantages. How have these advancements helped fastener manufacturers? This post will explain how the manufacturers have benefited by these fastener advancements.

Trends in Fastener Technology

There have been a lot of trends in the developing technology of fasteners. The following are the upcoming trends:

1. Use of New Alloys for Fasteners – As far as future advancements are concerned; several experts are presently trying new alloys for making fasteners. These newer alloys help improve properties and performance of fasteners in severe environments. Also, the new variants produced from new alloys can be made superconducting or ultra-light without compromising strength.
2. Miniature Fastener Types and Styles – This is considered to be one of the biggest trends as far as fastening technology advancement is concerned. Nowadays, designs are getting more and more compact and thus are requiring lesser space. This in turn reduces the area required to place and install hardware. These miniature fastener designs are of great help in a wide range of industries, varying from electronics to aerospace.  In certain applications, thin or even ultra-thin metal sheets are involved, which require threads. In such situations, miniature clinch fasteners are of great help. These fasteners are a great choice if you are looking for a reusable, permanent and strong threaded solution.
3. Small Screw Insertion – A screw is used to hold two objects together firmly. If the screws are not fitted firmly and are left loose then it gives rise to several problems in an assembly. Manual installation of small screws into the conventional semi-automated power fastening tool is time-consuming. This hampers the productivity, thus increasing the associated costs. The conventional methods used for inserting screws are not capable of providing the seating torque. Thus, to overcome this problem, there have been several developments in the systems. These developments and advancements provide precise and quick small screw insertion.
4. Installing Fasteners During Stamping Process – There has been one more advancement in fastening technology – the process of installing fasteners during the stamping process. This portable system works along with the stamping press to help feed, as well as install the fasteners. One of the major advantages of this system is that all the secondary operations for inserting fasteners are eliminated.

These are a few trends and upcoming advancements of fasteners.  We can look forward to many more innovations in the fastener technology field in the years to come.

Everyone who has ever worked with fasteners has accidentally messed one up at some point. One of the most damaging ways to do that is by over-tightening, or over torquing the fastener. This can result in stripping screws, snapping screw heads and damaging pre-tapped threading.

Fastener Torquing

Installing fasteners is an easy task (usually). To do so, you normally apply torque to the fastener, usually a nut or a screw head and simply “screw it in”. When torque and pressure is added to the driver, the fastener begins to spin. In general, although there are exceptions such as the left-hand nut, spinning to the right tightens and spinning to the left loosens (“righty-tighty, lefty-loosey”). The problems start when fasteners are driven too far, or over tightened.

An easy way to picture over-torquing is to take a look at deck screws. Most deck screws have a flat head style. This means when installed correctly, the screw head is supposed to be flush with the surface of the wood. As you can see in the picture to the right, if the fastener is over-tightened, the head is pulled beneath the surface of the wood. The increased surface area pushing against the wood is enough to greatly increase the required torque to tighten or loosen the fastener, which can result in stripping, snapped heads or thread damage which compromises the integrity of the fastener.

When torque is applied to a fastener and it is tightened, it will take an increased amount of torque to further tighten. Most inexperienced people working with fasteners tend to severely over-tighten fasteners thinking it will prevent them from loosening, however, this is not normally the case, and will cause damage to the fastener. To keep a fastener from loosening over time due to vibration and other external factors, a threadlocker solution, locking washer, locking nut or a combination of the three should be used.

While this seems simple enough, when torque is applied to a fastener and it is tightened, it will take an increased amount of torque to further tighten. Most inexperienced people working with fasteners tend to severely over-tighten fasteners thinking it will prevent them from loosening, this is not normally the case. To keep a fastener from loosening over time due to vibration and other external factors, a threadlocker solution, locking washer, locking nut or a combination of the three should be used.

Things to Consider When Torquing Fasteners:

• Fastener Materials
• Installation Materials
• Thread Type

Fastener Materials

When torquing a fastener, the driven portion of the fastener – drive recess or nut – is put under a tremendous amount of stress. This is why it is crucial to use the proper drive size and style on the fastener. Using the wrong size will place an uneven pressure on the recess resulting in a stripped recess or a rounded nut. Since fasteners can be made from different materials ranging from soft metals to heat-treated hardened ones, the torque that can be applied to the fastener will depend on the material the fastener is made out of. For example, an aluminum bolt will not be able to take nearly as much torque as a Grade 8 bolt.

Fastener Drives

The fastener drive style will also matter. Below are the most common fastener drive styles listed from best to worst in terms of torque-taking ability and resistance to stripping:

1. Star (Torx)
2. Internal Hex
3. Robertson (Square)
4. Pozi-Driv
5. Phillips
6. Slotted

Installation Materials

Installation materials can range from plastic all the way to steel which means not only does the torque the fastener can handle matter, the torque the material threading can handle also matters. Torquing a screw in plastic will have a much lower threshold then torquing a screw in steel.

In many installations, ruining the installation hole can end up ruining an entire build. By over-torquing in a softer material, the tapped threading in the hole can be damaged or stripped entirely. This is very common when working with plastic holes. It is generally very easy to over-torque and destroy the threading. To fix this, new threads need to be installed either by re-tapping the whole, or using a threaded insert and more than likely, the diameter of the screw will also need to be increased.

Thread Type

Thread type can also make a difference when it comes to torquing fasteners. There are two basic types of threading:

• Coarse
• Fine

Coarse Threading is a deeper but more spread out threading. This makes coarse threaded fasteners more durable because light marring on the threading won’t prevent the threads from spinning.

Fine Threading is a shallower threading but with many more threads per inch. Their tighter and shallower structure makes them less likely to be vibrated loose, but it also means there are more threads holding the fastener in place. Due to these extra threads, the fastener can withstand more torque and distribute it better on the installation material’s threading.

Both types, if torqued too much can cause the threading to slightly warp making it very difficult to remove the fastener later. That warping also weakens and changes the holding power of the fastener.

The Best Way to Avoid Over-Torquing

For most DIY projects the best way to avoid over-torquing is just to practice. With practice, knowing when to stop torquing will become second nature.

A torque wrench is a wrench that digitally sets and senses the torque. Once the optimal torque is reached, the clutch inside the wrench will slip preventing the fastener from being tightened further.  Many professional industries follow these torquing guidelines and use these tools to prevent over-tightening.

Demand for industrial fasteners is anticipated to register steady growth in the long run, owing to rising demand from various end-use sectors such as construction, machinery, and automotive after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides in 2020. Strong revival in the construction and automotive markets will fuel demand for these fasteners in several developed regions. Further, the growing adoption of lightweight fasteners and titanium fasteners in the automotive and aerospace sectors respectively is also likely to bode well for the market. The expanding automotive sector globally is expected to sustain demand for fasteners. The growing production of light commercial vehicles, medium commercial vehicles, textile machinery, heavy earth moving equipment, aircraft, utility vehicles, and machine tools are also expected to drive demand for fasteners in future. Adoption of industrial fasteners in East Europe, India, and China is likely to rise in the forthcoming years.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Industrial Fasteners estimated at US$69.7 billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$87.3 billion by the year 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4.2% over the analysis period. Metal Fasteners, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record 4% CAGR and reach US$80.4 billion by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Plastic segment is readjusted to a revised 5.5% CAGR for the next 7-year period. Despite the increasing use of adhesives and chemical bonding in automotive applications, use of metal fasteners continue to dominate given the unrivalled strength and structural integrity offered. The development of newer manufacturing technologies is also helping sustain the dominance of metal fasteners. Plastic Fasteners, especially Nylon Fasteners, are growing in popularity encouraged by the technology breakthroughs achieved in composite material R&D. Glass and/or metallic fillers are often used in combination with plastics to enhance the strength and performance.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $12.3 Billion in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $19.5 Billion by 2026

The Industrial Fasteners market in the U.S. is estimated at US$12.3 billion in the year 2022. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$19.5 billion by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 5.8% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 2.7% and 4.1% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 2.7% CAGR. Asia-Pacific (including China and Japan) is anticipated to drive the global industrial fasteners market in value terms. The anticipated growth in manufacturing, automotive, and construction sectors will strongly drive demand for industrial fasteners in the region. Rising demand for automobiles, especially in China and India, and the growing construction and maintenance activities will buoy demand for industrial fasteners in the region.

Source: Global Industrial Analysis,