A Guide To Keeping Down Fastener Weight During Assembly

During the assembly of various machines, there are a number of priorities that the engineers often need to watch out for in order to make the project work. Most of the time, such priorities are tied to the nature of the item being designed. For instance, there are some that need to be as light […]

During the assembly of various machines, there are a number of priorities that the engineers often need to watch out for in order to make the project work. Most of the time, such priorities are tied to the nature of the item being designed. For instance, there are some that need to be as light as possible in order to function.

This is usually the case when machines are being designed for use in the aerospace industry, as well as in the automotive world. In order to ensure that the weight of the item you are designing is kept low, one of the things you will need to keep in mind is how you approach the way in which fasteners are used. Some of the strategies you can employ for this include:

Buy fasteners that are made of lightweight material

If you are interested keeping weight down, it’s important that you use fasteners that are designed with this in mind. For instance, when you need to use cap nuts in such a scenario, it would be wiser for you to ensure that the ones you end up getting are made out of a lightweight material such as aluminum. These tend to be a bit more expensive than the ones made out of the regular materials such as steel, but you will end up achieving your goals of minimizing weight.

In order to find such fasteners, you will need to get a highly specialized vendor to sell them to you. Fortunately, it’s not very difficult to find most of them, since some might even have an online presence.

Reduce the number of fasteners needed

In addition to that, you may also need to be keen on the way you design the item you are designing, with the aim of reducing the presence of any redundant fasteners. In addition to keeping the weight of the item down, this also helps cut down on costs as well, since you will need to pay less for them. Remember, you will be using specialized fasteners that are more expensive than the regular ones, so cost saving is even more important here. The key issue to keep in mind is to only use fasteners where they are needed.

Always consult if you are in doubt

If you have run out of ideas on how to reduce the weight of the fasteners you need for such a project, you can also consult people who can help you. For instance, if you know of any other party that is likely to have dealt with such problems in the past, you can try to find out how they dealt with it. In many cases, you will end up learning a lot. You can also get the same information from online sources, such as when you read about similar projects that other parties have carried out in the past.

You can also consult your fastener vendor as well. Once you explain to them what the problems you are facing are, most of them will be able to direct you on how to solve them. For instance, they could even guide you on how to have custom made hex tap bolts created.