WINTER 2023

70 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

70 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK SPIROL INTERNATIONAL CORP. 30 Rock Avenue, Danielson, CT 06239 TEL 1-860-774-8571 FAX 1-860-774-2048 EMAIL info@spirol.com WEB www.spirol.com CHOOSING THE PROPER FASTENER WHEN AUTOMATING by Christie Jones, Director of Marketing, Vice President The fastener is as important when automating as the automation equipment itself. Choosing the right fastener may prevent exorbitant machine and fixture costs, decrease set-up and cycle times, as well as reduce the manufacturing cost of the components. One of the biggest motivators for companies who choose automatic fastening over manual fastening is increasing productivity and reducing costs. Unfortunately, many don’t realize the impact the fastener has on achieving these goals. Not all fasteners are easy to orient, feed, or install. Also, the more tooling necessary to orient and deliver the fastener, the more expensive the equipment is going to be. It is important to select a fastener that meets the application requirements and is conducive to automation in order to maximize productivity and minimize costs. It is in the design stage of the assembly where the decisions are made that will either make or break the success and ease of automation. A common mistake that is made is when designs allow the cost of the fastener to take precedence over the cost of fastening. Any money saved on the cost of the fastener can be quickly eroded by the money spent on intricate automation equipment, and decreased productivity through increased assembly cycle times, and equipment downtime. Companies should focus on the lowest installed cost fastener. Typically, these are permanently installed fasteners that are pressed into, rather than threaded into, a hole and do not require any secondary operations for retention. There are a few general considerations to keep in mind when considering automating fastener installation. The length to diameter ratio of the fastener is very important. Any part with a length to diameter ratio less than 1:1 can be problematic because there is potential for the parts to tumble and jam in the feed tube. It is also recommended that the fasteners are clean and sorted. Dirty fasteners not only cause some parts to stick in the feeder bowl, but they can also stick in the feed tube. If the fasteners are not sorted, there is a potential of jamming the insertion equipment. This can be costly because valuable time is wasted breaking down the machine to clear the jam. Design engineers and assemblers should become familiar with the features of fasteners that can affect the success of automating. For the sake of this discussion, the features have been broken down into symmetrical and non-symmetrical. Non-Symmetrical Non-symmetrical fasteners can be a challenge to automate depending on the feature(s). They require end to end orientation; thus more expensive tooling is necessary than required for symmetrical fasteners. TECHNICAL ARTICLE CONTINUED ON PAGE 128