Many important considerations in bolted joint development are often overlooked. While estimating the bolt tension achieved for a given tightening strategy is certainly a common focus, the effect of load on joint components is less fully discussed and understood.
Every day, fastener suppliers preach an important message to manufacturers: Fasteners that hold together a product are critical to its functionality, design, durability and end-user satisfaction. Sometimes, this advice hits home.
TONAWANDA, NY—General Motors is using smart bolts equipped with RFID tags to build its new line of Gen 5 six- and eight-cylinder engines. Each bolt can store 5 kilobytes of data.
PHILADELPHIA—Naval Sea Systems Command has completed a fleetwide fastener study, identifying and recommending the removal of thousands of fasteners from the Navy supply system. The review identified 108,000 dormant fasteners—fasteners with no contract, requisition or maintenance history in the past five years—and 3,200 duplicate fasteners where two or more identical fasteners had different stock numbers.
This past year, baby boomers began turning 65. Because these individuals tend to live more active lives than previous generations, some medical device companies, like Skeletal Dynamics, are developing implants to withstand up to 1 million load cycles without loosening or backing out.
