In addition industry is continually being charged to reduce wastage and improve recyclability as well improve working environments, health and safety being key issues that most companies come across on a regular basis.
Mechanical fasteners in one form or another have been in existence almost from the cave man days with developments in more recent years enabling them to be used successfully in most types of assembly environments and at the same time satisfying the requirements of safety, quality and cost. They continue to be a simple solution to assembly problems providing a system of positive connection with low risk, which can be easily disassembled. They have no thickness limitation, are not environmentally sensitive and provide through-thickness reinforcement, with low sensitivity to peel stresses and have no major residual stress problems.
Above all they are simple – joint configuration is simple, manufacturing processes are simple, inspection is simple and maintenance is simple. Simplicity can be a major advantage in most applications.
Read the full article in the September issue of DPA