The practice of pre-assembly is becoming increasingly common across various sectors and its benefits are widely recognised – from eco-friendliness, to safety and quality, as well as savings in cost and time. With this in mind, Pandrol intends to maximise pre-assembly in both new and existing products. Here, John Porrill, technical director and head of the fastening systems product line, explore...

Here SMT Srl – the independent testing laboratory and mechanical workshop – focuses on yield strength and how there are different yield values that are required by different standards. A tensile test allows an operator to obtain a variety of different values and among them the yield strength, the topic of this article. When a specimen is subjected to a tensile test up to a certain load, its beh...

In the 1970s Gantrex was leading the charge in modernising rail fastening solutions with soft mounted rails. Here, Steve Nikolayev, CX manager ports at Gantrex Group, looks at the history of the rail fastener and how the Group is continuing to innovate and solve customers’ problems by coming up with bespoke solutions. In the 1970s rails were mounted directly on the steel girders with steel-on-s...

NSK has developed a new generation of ball screws which aim to achieve higher surface finish quality, designed for high-accuracy machine tools used in die, mould machining and other applications. NSK Ltd has undergone extensive research and development to improve machining surface quality, thereby eliminating or reducing the time needed for burnishing or polishing work, while also reducing the...

Ideal for use in the aerospace, electronic, opto-electronic and speciality OEM industries, Master Bond MasterSil 323AO-LO is a two component silicone elastomer with a self-priming feature, designed for bonding, sealing and gap filling applications. Electrically insulating and thermally conductive, MasterSil 323AO-LO meets NASA low outgassing specifications and with a thermal conductivity of 1....

Working together with a European research and development team, Kinfast has the skill and innovative vision to consistently make high-quality products – such as its collated drywall self-drilling screws. Kinfast’s collated screws are held together with a durable plastic strip that has been designed to fit perfectly into auto-feed screw guns – making them suitable for all leading brands, includi...

Makita has introduced the new 18V LXT® brushless 6,000rpm autofeed screwdriver, model XRF03Z, which it states delivers superior fastening speed to handle a variety of materials and applications. Using a Makita brushless motor to achieve a maximum fastening speed of 6,000rpm, the autofeed screwdriver can be used in a variety of work environments and can drive up to 2,250 screws with Push Drive™...

HALCO Europe Ltd is supporting UK-based West Midlands Trains with integral seating components on a fleet of brand new Class 196 trains. Back in 2019, West Midlands Railway ordered a total of 26 brand new diesel trains – known in the rail industry as Class 196s – as part of a huge investment in the region’s railway network. Despite delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic, both on the manufacturing a...

Thanks to its high torque transmission and long tool life, TORX® is used in many industries around the world and remains as relevant today as it was when it first launched. Here, CAMCAR Innovations explains the benefits of working with an authorised TORX® manufacturer. The TORX® brand began in 1967 with the original TORX® patent. From this humble beginning, the drive system has continually expa...

When Atlas Copco was approached by a customer with an issue concerning the shrink discs in wind energy applications, the company were able to develop an innovative solution to the problem. The shrink disc tensioning solution ultimately achieved savings in time and cost. The challenge The shrink disc application is one of the toughest applications to be tightened for a wind turbine. This is due...