Challenges on the horizon for fastening manufacturers

In an increasingly competitive and technologically evolving environment, fastener specialists bring new levels of added value. Report published in AutoRevista 2399.

Raquel Alonso Davila, Area Sales Manager Spain & Portugal at Arnold, explains that, although they maintain business relationships with the major OEMs, Tier-1 and Tier-2 account for approximately 75% of their sales and make up the majority of their customer base. 

Alonso explains what is most important in the elements that connect vehicle assemblies, blocks and modules. In his view, the most important is durability and strength, ‘evaluated through digital engineering and simulations at Arnold’; corrosion resistance, ‘guaranteed by our in-house zinc plating process, soon to be joined by zinc-nickel treatment in our own facilities’; safety and torque, ‘controlled through the corresponding tests in our laboratory’; and, finally, technical cleanliness, ‘ensured by optical particle inspection to prevent short circuits in specific vehicle applications, a process we also perform in-house’.

Arnold's Area Sales Manager believes that one of the main challenges in the development of these components is to bring her expertise to the customer at an early stage of the project. ‘This allows us to identify solutions that are both technically and economically feasible and, at the same time, to jointly define the appropriate specifications. But not only that, in his opinion, another key challenge is to design the component efficiently, ‘avoiding technical oversizing in order to achieve a balance between performance and costs’. ‘

Finally, both the development and deployment phases present the challenge of working with emerging applications in low-volume markets. This requires adaptability and a solution-oriented approach to effectively meet customer needs,’ he concludes.

As for the main materials used in joining and fastening elements, Alonso Davila points to steel, which ‘is still the main material’, although not the only one: ‘In the automotive industry, the use of other materials such as aluminium and high-strength steel is becoming more and more common,’ he says. ‘In addition, with electrification, we are increasingly working with materials such as copper for applications like busbars. We are currently developing bimetallic fasteners, which combine aluminium and copper, using a unique cold stamping process,’ she adds. 

In conclusion, and in relation to whether his company is working on the development of sustainable materials for the manufacture of this type of component, he says that ‘our company designs and produces metal fasteners, and steel is not the most sustainable material, however, the objective is to move towards green steel to reduce the carbon footprint. In the same line of reduction, we have the ACO2-Save programme: we create the individual footprint for each product along the entire value chain. We offer customers a wide range of options to save CO2. The design starts with a FEM (‘finite element’) simulation that can be linked to a CO2 calculator, and we obtain in advance the footprint that will be generated by the production of the component. The different solutions can be compared with each other”.

Resistance

As far as Böllhoff is concerned, component manufacturers and suppliers account for 60 percent of its customer base. In their opinion, the most important thing for the elements connecting vehicle assemblies, blocks and modules is the strength of the fasteners: ‘The fasteners must be strong and provide the vehicle assemblies, blocks and modules with increased strength, such as our Helicoil thread inserts for thread reinforcement in soft metals, for example. 

On the other hand, Böllhoff points out that fastening elements for noise and vibration absorption ‘such as our Snaploc quick coupling devices or the Sitec family of fastening solutions’ are essential. But they also ask for tolerance-compensating fastening solutions, ‘such as our Flexitol tolerance compensation system’.

They also refer to the importance of lifetime (the lifetime of the fastener, its durability is another fundamental aspect); to the speed of manufacturing cycles; and finally, to the possibility of offering gas- and liquid-tight fasteners, and also to quality, that these fasteners meet ‘the demanding quality standards of the sector’.

In terms of challenges, the manufacturer indicates that the most important ones are ‘responding to customer requirements such as compatibility with new materials, lightweight structures, e-mobility, and high and demanding quality standards, always offering reliable and safe fastenings’.

Finally, as far as the main materials are concerned, they say that they are steel, stainless steel, brass, aluminium and plastics. In this respect, they do not forget about sustainability: ‘Böllhoff offers plastic versions of certain products, which allow and facilitate recycling, for example, our Flexitol Plastic tolerance compensation system”.

Quality standards

AGME manufactures riveting machines, presses and customised machines for the automated assembly of automotive components and sub-assemblies. ‘Our customer base from the automotive components industry accounts for 80% of our turnover. To meet stringent quality, automation and safety requirements, the automotive industry has higher investment plans in automated assembly machinery than other sectors. Moreover, the pressure to innovate and adapt quickly to the continuous changes in the sector and the launch of new car models forces the automotive industry to constantly renew its machine park. Special machinery with a high technological value and turnkey projects that AGME Automated assemby solutions designs and develops since its foundation in 1948. Our main customers are manufacturers of car seat structures and joints, ball joints and suspension arms, anti-vibration systems, lock components and many other automotive components’, explains Arantzazu Vicario Varela, Marketing Manager.

Regarding the elements that connect vehicle assemblies, blocks and modules, Vicario points out that ‘since they must withstand dynamic loads, vibrations and impacts without failure, the elements that connect the assemblies must have mechanical strength and high reliability. The fixed or mobile component joints that are achieved using radial riveting or flanging technology are of the highest quality. In the case of riveting, high-strength heads are obtained due to their progressive and smooth formation with an adequate distribution of the fibres. We are talking about joints of assemblies or joints such as door hinges, seat guides, seat recliners, lock components, suspension ball joints, windscreen wipers and jacks, among many others. They must be suitable materials with surface treatments that prevent fatigue or premature wear. Also, the precision, control and automation of the assembly processes of the assemblies is of vital importance to meet the quality standards of the automotive industry’.

AGME is currently implementing two strategic projects in the R&D&I field. The first of these is Invesmac, a project financed by the CDTI which aims to achieve total control of the quality of the joints of different materials. Through this project, new hardware and software has been developed for AGME riveting machines and electric presses, with the aim of optimising the control of deformation and assembly processes using joining and fastening elements. Thanks to this new control, greater precision is achieved in these operations, better and more flexible human-machine interaction, and management and processing of process data adapted to the new needs and requirements of today's industry”.

‘The second,’ explains the Marketing Manager, ’aims to develop an advanced version of AGME's flexible riveting centres to improve their precision, speed and efficiency. Smart technologies such as advanced automation and real-time monitoring and artificial intelligence are integrated, optimising production. In line with the flexibility and versatility needed in assembly machines, fully automated assembly solutions are developed, capable of making changes of component model, rivet type and even joining technology with minimal time and resource costs. This brings to the fastening industry levels of flexibility and versatility hitherto unattained’.

Arantzazu Vicario concludes by pointing out that ‘our most widely used joining technology is riveting, a technology entirely developed at AGME with our radial riveting machines and RA series riveting heads. The rivets that AGME riveting machines deform to assemble automotive components are made of 400 N/mm2 steel, and sometimes of stainless steel with greater resistance to corrosion and hardness.

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