The price of an Engineered Fastener is only part of the equation.
Some people only look at the price of a fastener and choose the cheapest. Design Engineers tend to look at the bigger picture and chose the Engineered Fastener that will deliver the best lifetime value. It’s all about how you balance the price of the part, time to assemble and maintenance costs. Then factor in the reliability of the supplier and end to end technical support.
Designing in value can deliver significant and sometimes surprising returns on investment. Here are 10 examples where fasteners and components from JET PRESS delivered real value.
- Weighing up the benefits
Lightweighting is a challenge for most Design Engineers. For example, every 1kg of material removed from an aircraft means 106kg of jet fuel is saved each year. Reducing the weight of a car by 10% can increase fuel efficiency by up to 3%. Where electric vehicles are concerned, the lighter it is the further it goes on a single charge.
But lighter components may be flimsy and require more fasteners. They are also more prone to vibration and fixing materials like plastic, carbon fibre and aluminium to steel presents challenges.
JET PRESS work with Design Engineers to overcome lightweighting challenges. For instance they’ve recently supplied a bus builder with Fastmount Clips to attach slim, lightweight internal panels. These are clips originally designed for Ocean going yachts, but they do a great job of stopping panels rattling in a bus.
And the aero industry uses lightweight Accuride Drawer Slides and is replacing bolts and screws with lighter Fir Tree Clips.
- Engineered Fasteners making it easier
The assembly process can be quicker and cheaper if you use the right parts. For instance, Fir Tree Fasteners are very quick and easy to use and require no special tools.
JET PRESS worked with a customer that produces Engine Beauty Covers. By replacing 3 pushnuts with a bespoke 3 point nut they cut assembly time.
For an auto engine building client they designed a tool with 7 interchangeable heads to attach the different Cable and Hose Fasteners used, also saving time in the assembly process.
- Outsource the hassle
JET PRESS are currently working with a customer on a complex civil engineering project. Firstly, they designed a bespoke Cable Management Fastener that allows cables to be added as the system is constructed. Secondly, they pre-assembled the fastener for the customer before they sent it out. Without this solution installers would have to assemble five components on site. JET PRESS often pre-assemble Swivel Clip Systems and similar components for customers.
- Maintaining the bottom line
Whatever you design, it will have to be maintained. Specifying the right Engineered Fastener will make a difference to speed, cost and safety. Larger machines are often protected with heavy guards. If you mount these on Accuride Linear Slides, the guards are easier to move.
Smaller maintenance panels tend to be screwed in place. Screws take time to unscrew, you can lose them or even drop them into the machine. A bolt retainer will stop the screw from getting lost and a Bi-Fix Quarter Turn Fastener also gives instant access.
- Getting it out in the open
Another maintenance cost issue is the time it takes to get at key items like pumps and compressors, especially in vehicles like trains. To reduce maintenance costs and down time you can build in a solution by mounting kit like this on Heavy Duty Accuride Slides. They can take loads up to 550kg and include lock in/lock out features.
- Nobody wants a burst pipe
Problems can arise when there is movement or vibration and the edge of a clip chafes against the cable, pipe or hose it retains, resulting in failure of the pipe. A very popular solution is flared edge Pipe & Cable Edge Fixings. The edge of the clip is angled away from the pipe to reduce chaffing. They’re an easy to use, cost effective solution and come in a huge range of sizes and finishes.
- Cut your inventory costs
You have to stock parts to make sure production is not interrupted. There are often economies of scale if you buy in bulk. But the more inventory lines you have the more money is tied up in Engineered Fasteners. Plus, it takes time and money to manage a complex inventory.
Choose the right Engineered Fastener and you can use it for multiple applications. For instance Multifit clips fit a range of panel thicknesses. JET PRESS are happy to talk to you about similar
ways to reduce your inventory.
- Make a big problem into a small one
You can cut costs with creative uses of Engineered Fasteners. The Furniture Designer for a fast food chain specified Fastmount fasteners instead of glue to assemble the chairs. This cut the assembly time from 45 minutes to 15. But the real return on investment for the restaurant chain comes when part of a chair is damaged or worn. Instead returning the whole chair, restaurant staff orders the damaged part, unclip the old one and clip on the new one.
- More furniture savings
JET PRESS had a customer with a problem that’s common across the furniture industry. They send sofas, chairs and similar items out without the feet attached; making delivery easier and reducing damage in transit.
The customer has to screw the feet on when it’s delivered. But it is very easy to make a mistake screwing into a T-Nut and customers are only human. Inevitably, some feet weren’t screwed in perfectly and when the customer sat on the furniture the T-Nut was forced out of the frame. The sofa had to be returned or replaced – a big expense.
JET PRESS worked with the customer to develop a solution, based on using the right Engineered Fastener. Instead of ordinary T-Nuts they now use Rivet T-Nuts inserted using a specialist machine. Rivet T-Nuts have a lead in that makes it easier for the customer to get it right and it’s almost impossible to force the Rivet T-Nut out if they get it a bit wrong.
Savings on returns have comfortably paid for the investment.
- Don’t replace it – fix it
On a more personal level, do you go camping? Or have a caravan with an awning? Or even a jacket or boots with a zip? When zips breaks it is bad news. Especially if it’s the first day of your holiday or the jacket is your favourite.
In most cases it’s not the zip that breaks, it’s the zip pull. ZlideOn Zip Repair kits allow you to replace the pull and fix the zip. You can carry on with your camping holiday or that jacket gets a new lease of life. Good for you and good for the planet. JET PRESS have a sister site Components Direct that sells Family packs of ZlideOn repair kits.
Talk is cheap and the JET PRESS team are always happy to discuss ways you can cut costs by using the right part.
