FALL 2020

24 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

24 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK EUROLINK FASTENER SUPPLY SERVICE 840 South Buncombe Road, Greer, SC 29650 TEL 864-801-0505 FAX 864-801-3606 EMAIL sales@eurolinkfss.com WEB www.eurolinkfss.com MAKING FUN OF DIN TO ISO CONVERSIONS by London Penland Things have changed and I intend to embody that truth within this article. As an ex-high school science teacher, I’ve learned that there is no better way to truly engage an audience on a topic that is innately bland and technical than to incorporate the points that need to be driven home within a story. Here is the story of my first year in the industry. You will find that I incorporate bits of technical information for your consideration so that you can apply that knowledge as you make careful decisions about other conversions. Furthermore, I will name drop some people and resources that could be helpful for you as related to this subject particularly and very likely in relation to other subjects as well. If there is one thing 2020 has taught us it must be that change is inevitable, but sometimes it can be for the good and usually it is awkward. I’ve been fortunate to work as the social chair for Young Fastener Professionals during this time. This opportunity has allowed me to talk consistently with business leaders across the country. Within the array of opinions about COVID-19, I have noticed a common theme: the industry is changing and quickly. Some changes are good, like leaders learning the necessity of compassionate leadership or the implementation of technologies to better enable our various systems. Some of that change is a bit awkward as we convert to new ways of doing things, including innovative ways to engage customers, while accounting for the relatively “old-school” approach our industry tends to favor. The same is true for the story of DIN to ISO conversions. Eurolink Fastener Supply Service specializes in sourcing and importing hard to find metric fasteners, particularly those that are to a DIN or ISO standard, and we just celebrated our 20th anniversary in July. In the twenty plus years that we’ve been in business, we have watched and participated as the industry has moved to embrace ISO standardized fasteners. I am very fortunate to be with a company that highly values precise technical knowledge and has staffed a team of highly experienced and knowledgeable employees whom have been willing to mentor me without hesitation. After a few months into joining the industry, I was invited by Brian and Eric at Fully Threaded Radio to discuss DIN to ISO conversions. They had seen my weekly VLOGs in which I would break down the differences between the DIN and ISO standards for similar fasteners and wanted my input on some questions related to these standards on their “Screwzapalooza” episode. We started off with some light conversation of course, like how the common metric standard for full thread hex head cap screws, DIN 933, overlaps with ISO 4017, with some exceptions, namely at the M10, M12, M14 and M22 sizes, and how these differences are consistent with their DIN 931/ISO 4014 counterparts (partial thread hex head cap screws). That’s when Brian put me on the spot and asked, “Why ISO standards though?”, followed by an unabated roasting of the French. I suggest giving that segment a listen, just for a few laughs at Brian’s wit and my nervous laughter. TECHNICAL ARTICLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 108