Materials and Fastening

It has been announced that bigHead is launching its latest product, Lean Bonding, at this year’s JEC World in Paris in March. “After several years in development, we are very excited to be releasing this major innovation onto the market.” commented bigHead’s MD, Matthew Stevens. “Lean Bonding will remove many of the frustrations and difficulties in fastening lightweight composites and thin metals.” 

Ex-stock rivet nuts and rivet bushes from Challenge Europe are frequently used in fixing solutions by providing female threads in thin walled sections. Sheet materials are commonly difficult to integrate with more rugged bulky components since provision of solid fixing in thin sheet is often a problem – however it is a problem easily resolved with rivet nuts which compress onto the sheet, or by rivet bushes which are pressed into it.

Introducing a new tribo-polymer developed especially for clip and flanged bearings typically used in sheet metal feedthroughs, igus has released the new iglidur K230 material. Here high edge loads are common and typical applications are usually in extreme environments. The wear-resistant iglidur K230 material meets all these requirements – it is highly elastic, chemical resistant and withstands moisture.

Fastener types and applications are the foci of two new guides from fast delivery catalogue company Essentra Components, they are aimed at engineers and buyers researching new fastener supplies and looking to benefit from Essentra Components’ in-depth understanding of these products.

What do an exoskeleton, an articulated robotic arm and a research project on space debris have in common? Plastic plain bearings are used in all these applications and they were chosen as the three winning applications at the last manus award - which is initiated every two years by igus. Now the starting whistle has been blown – manus award 2019 is now open for entries.

The demand for fasteners – threaded or otherwise – is frequently impossible to meet from standard ranges – at the same time quantities and delivery schedules need to be managed for production scheduling. Challenge Europe are in a position to handle both since quality has always been a top priority for them, reflected both in the product range of their stock, and in the service they provide.

A team from the University of Southampton working on submarine technology is receiving engineer support and engineering-grade plastic bearings through the igus’ YES (Young Engineers Support) programme. The Southampton University Human Powered Submarine Society (SUHPS) is a group of students that design, build and test human-powered submarines to compete internationally.

  Challenge Europe are finding an increasing requirement for rework and retro-fit projects – often involving changes to mechanical fastenings or the fitting of electronic components such as sensors

Wire forms typically are parts made from wire that is bent to have specific angles and lengths. They are well known as simple, quick to install and low cost as permanent but easily removable devices. These simple devices are found in electrical equipment, vehicles of all types, machines such as for production, unit transfer or mobile equipment or furniture.

Hartford uses fully-assembled energy chain systems from igus in its robotic machining centres. This cuts out many process steps for the manufacturer, reducing assembly time from several weeks to just half a day. Another benefit for Hartford is that when it orders readychain from igus, it is from a single source and delivered onsite fully tested.