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  • BUMAX chosen for the Einstein Telescope project

    Posted in Aerospace fasteners, Industry 4.0, Innovation, Manufacturing technology on Nov 21, 2023

    Swedish specialist fastener manufacturer BUMAX has been selected to supply premium fasteners to ETpathfinder, an R&D facility at Maastricht University for testing and prototyping innovative concepts and enabling new technologies for the Einstein Telescope (ET).

    The Einstein Telescope is a next generation underground gravitational wave observatory. The ET is being developed to be 100 times more sensitive than current instruments and is scheduled for completion in 2035. The telescope will enable scientists to study the precise structure of neutron stars, the birth of black holes and the structure of the universe immediately after the Big Bang.

    Regular fasteners not an option

    The ETpathfinder equipment is currently being assembled in a cleanroom that includes a large vacuum vessel containing various optics and seismic attenuation structures to isolate the test setup as much as possible from any noise from the outside world. The test setup resides in a vacuum to further remove vibrations carried through the air, and to also minimize interference of air molecules with the optics and lasers.

    “Because we can’t use any oils or lubricants in our cleanroom, regular fasteners just aren’t an option,” explains Mathijs Baars, Mechanical Engineer at the Dutch National Institute for Subatomic Physics (Nikhef). “We investigated various fastener alternatives, including titanium-nitride coated fasteners, but BUMAX was the only solution that fully met our requirements while still being cost effective.”

    Anti-galling properties crucial

    BUMAX is supplying bolts, washers and nuts in the BUMAX 88 stainless steel grade which offers anti-galling properties. Galling is common with regular stainless steel fasteners and involves the fastener seizing up with the internal threads as a result of cold welding. In the ETpathfinder project, some parts may need to be disassembled and reassembled more than 100 times over the coming couple of decades. Any galling issues would have serious consequences for the project.

    ET2.jpg

    “The worst-case scenario for us would be if a galled fastener were to weld with one of our custom-made vacuum parts as these would be very costly to replace,” says Baars. “This is why choosing fasteners with anti-galling properties is essential risk management for the entire ETpathfinder project – particularly in the vacuum chamber where we will only use BUMAX fasteners.”

    The BUMAX® 88 bolts and nuts delivered to the ETpathfinder project are electro polished, receive kolsterised treatment and are cleanroom packed. This is important to avoid particles from the nuts and bolts in the ETpathfinder cleanroom and Kolsterisation increases surface hardness, which further reduces the risk of galling.

    Cryogenic temperature resistance

    The ETpathfinder mirrors will be cooled to 8K (-265°C) when they are operational to ensure optimum performance. The mirrors are cooled to reduce thermal noise, which is the vibration of atoms that scales with that atom’s temperature.

    ET1.jpg

    Metals typically become brittle at cryogenic temperatures, which makes them prone to sudden failure. However, BUMAX® 88 fasteners provide good resistance to cryogenic temperatures due to their high material quality, low impurities and high-quality finish. Third-party tests have shown that BUMAX® 88 fasteners retain excellent ductility even in temperatures as low as 0K (-273°C).

    BUMAX often chosen for challenging scientific R&D projects and other hi-tech manufacturing industries

    “Our premium fasteners have been chosen for many scientific high-profile projects and products, including CERN and ISS , and this is yet another one,” said Lars Holm, Managing Director of BUMAX. “We are very proud to have been selected to be part of the Einstein Telescope project, which is of course testament to the high quality of our products.”


    Author: BUMAX

  • BUMAX selected for demanding ultrasonic welding application

    Posted in Fasteners manufacturers, Industry 4.0 on Jul 24, 2023

    Swedish premium fastener manufacturer BUMAX has been selected to provide fasteners to be used in machines for ultrasonic metal welding. The client is Schunk Sonosystems, a global leading specialist in the field of ultrasonic metal welding.

    German specialist machine maker Schunk Sonosystems has decided to use BUMAX DX 129 screws for all its ultrasonic welding flexure sonotrode products to further improve quality and reliability. The machines are mainly used in the automobile industry.

    Standard steel bolts simply cannot cope with the extreme pulling and bending forces of ultrasonic vibration, so we had to find a bolt that does,” said Stefan Mueller, Head of R&D at Schunk Sonosystems. “Of all the screws we tested, only BUMAX met all our needs. Not only are BUMAX consistent in how they perform and do not break, they last the lifetime of the sonotrode without problem, are not creating abrasion dust on the screw head and do not require rust protection.”

    Extreme levels of vibration

    Schunk Sonosystems is a global leader in developing and building machines for ultrasonic metal welding – such as their industry-leading flexure sonotrode. Their machines include a sonotrode or welding tip that transfers vibrational energy to the workpiece. Up to two high-strength bolts are required to fix the sonotrode, which is subject to extreme levels of vibration due to the very high frequency used in ultrasonic welding.

    ultrasonic welding machine MAIN.png

    Ultrasonic welding is a solid-state welding process that uses ultrasonic vibrations to weld pieces of metal together. The metals are welded together by heat generated by friction when applying high-frequency ultrasonic vibrational energy.

    ultrasonic welding machine2.png

    The BUMAX DX 129 (Duplex stainless steel) offers very high tensile strengths of min. 1,200 MPa and excellent fatigue resistance properties. It deals successfully with the with extreme forces during the ultrasonic welding process, such as 20,000 vibrations per second.

    Excellent fatigue strength

    The high fatigue strength that BUMAX screws offer is crucial to their ability to withstand a high number of cycles without fracture. All BUMAX bolts are made with the highest quality European steel, and its advanced manufacturing processes result in the further enhancement of the material’s fatigue resistance properties.

    Fatigue fracture often begins with a stress concentration such as inclusions, slags or surface defects. The high-quality raw materials BUMAX uses, together with the best metallurgical processes and good surface properties, guarantee excellent fatigue strength. BUMAX also uses rolled threads rather than cut threads, which further increases fatigue resistance.


    Author: Nimeka de Silva

    Head of Marketing, BUMAX AB

    Tel: +44 (0) 7904 980037 | +44 (0) 1527 593780

    Email: nimeka.desilva@bumax.se

  • BUMAX continues to deliver fasteners that are out of this world

    Posted in Aerospace fasteners, Fasteners manufacturers, Industry 4.0, Innovation on May 15, 2023

    [Åshammar, Sweden, May 12, 2023.] Specialist fastener manufacturer BUMAX has been selected to provide crucial fasteners to be used on the International Space Station (ISS). BUMAX 88 fasteners will be used to secure a new payload going to the ISS to measure the speed of sound.

    BUMAX premium fasteners include some of the strongest in the world and are being used in a variety of extremely demanding and cutting-edge scientific applications, such as at the scientific research institute CERN in Switzerland and for the world’s largest optical telescope in northern Chile.

    The space sector continues to benefit from the BUMAX fastener range with various applications. BUMAX extra strong and fatigue resistant model 88 has been selected to securely fasten the housing of a new payload on the ISS called Granular Sound.

    The customer is OHB System AG, a subsidiary of the European space and technology group OHB SE, under contract of the European Space Agency (ESA). OHB SE is a European multinational technology corporation. Headquartered in Bremen, Germany, the corporation consists of the three business divisions: Space Systems, Aerospace and Digital. At present, OHB is the third largest corporation in Europe's space sector.

    International Space Station.jpg

    ”To avoid glass balls flying around the ISS”

    Granular Sound is an experiment in space to measure the speed of sound through a cube filled with glass balls (a so-called package) in microgravity at different package pressures. The experiment uses thousands of glass balls to simulate granular media like sand or concrete.

    “The housing of this package will be securely fastened by BUMAX 88 fasteners to avoid the balls from flying around the ISS,” said Lukas Pfeiffer, Project Manager & Systems Engineer at OHB System AG. “The microgravity experiment will provide valuable data for various terrestrial and space applications – from more effective concrete processing to 3D printing in space or on the moon.”

    The enhanced properties of BUMAX 88 fasteners are achieved through a combination of unique BUMAX manufacturing processes and the highest quality European steel.

    Monitoring air quality for astronauts

    Since January 2022, BUMAX 88 screws have also been used for the ANITA-2 trace gas monitoring system to ensure good air quality for the ISS astronauts. The system has been simultaneously measuring more than 40 gases every six minutes on the ISS. The system was developed by OHB System AG. BUMAX 88 screws were used for the ANITA-2 payload to securely seal a safety containment and fasten crucial optical components.

    “Being trusted with supplying fasteners for projects such as CERN and ISS, which are essential to the evolution of mankind, is of course a source of immense pride and a testament to the quality of our products and BUMAX as a whole,” said Lars Holm, Managing Director, BUMAX. “Being chosen again and again for the most demanding applications means that all our existing and new customers can rest assured that they are getting the best of the best.

    The International Space Station was launched in 1998 to gain more knowledge about space. It is crewed by up to seven people. The ISS orbits the Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometers and a speed of 28,000 km/h, which means it orbits the Earth every 90 minutes.

    Copyright-free images of the ISS for publication here. NASA should be acknowledged as the source of the material.


    About BUMAX

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    For additional information please contact:

    Nimeka de Silva

    Head of Marketing, BUMAX AB

    Tel: +44 (0) 7904 980037 | +44 (0) 1527 593780 Email: nimeka.desilva@bumax.se

  • BUMAX supplies Flintec with fasteners for precision weighing

    Posted in Fasteners manufacturers, Industry 4.0, Innovation on Nov 25, 2022

    Swedish specialist fastener manufacturer BUMAX has supplied its premium BUMAX 88 fasteners for one of Flintec’s most recent weighing modules to meet industry strength and reliability requirements as well as European standards.

    Flintec, a world-leading manufacturer of high quality, precision, weight measurement technologies, has chosen BUMAX as its supplier of premium fasteners for its latest load cells. The load cells are electro-mechanical sensors used to measure force or weight. They provide accurate and robust performance across a diverse range of applications – from automating car manufacturing to weighing shopping at the supermarket checkout. New types of load cells are continuously being designed to meet the needs of this ever-changing market.

    “When we designed the new 55-20 weighing module, BUMAX was able to meet all our demands for high strength fasteners to ensure performance and reliability,” said Klaus Fuchs, Engineering Manager at Flintec Germany. “The BUMAX 88 fasteners used in our 55-20 weighing module have proved to be highly reliable and we have had no issues to date. We are very likely to use BUMAX fasteners on future products, depending on the environmental and design specifications we have.”

    Flintec weighing module with BUMAX fasteners.jpg

    High strength, maintenance-free and durable

    Crucial properties of the BUMAX 88 stainless steel fastener are high strength, corrosion resistant, durable and maintenance free with a low temperature toughness.

    The Flintec 55-20 weighing module is a low-profile unit that enables customers to install load cells beneath the legs of their silos, tanks or other storage solutions. The built-in load cell offers a wide range of high precision weighing capacities from 7.5T through to 300T. The 55-20 is equipped with an integrated lift-off system and bump stops.

    The low temperature toughness of BUMAX® 88 is a crucial property for the 55-20 weighing module that helps to avoid breakages in low temperatures when conventional steel can become brittle. The module has an operating temperature range of between -40°C to 80°C.

    The enhanced properties of BUMAX 88 fasteners are achieved through a higher molybdenum content (minimum 2.5%), unique BUMAX manufacturing processes and the sourcing of the highest quality European steel.


    Author: Klaus Vogt

    BUMAX Development Manager – South Germany, Austria & Switzerland

    Telephone: +49 160 921 97 408

    Email: klaus.vogt@bufab.com

  • Rexlen Corporation: launch of the new facility To enlarge product range and customer service

    Posted in Fastener suppliers, Fasteners manufacturers, Manufacturing technology on Sep 30, 2020

    Rexlen Corporation, professional MULTI-FORMING COLD FORGE/CNC FASTENER manufacturer for special fasteners...