Fastener now comes in stainless steel

The process-free "Automatic" fastener is now being produced by Item in stainless steel, following higher than expected sales of other stainless steel components such as T-slot nuts.

Suitable even where vibration is present, automatic fasteners require only socket wrenches to fit (no drilling or tapping required), and are typically used as corner joints to build or modify aluminium frames where machining facilities are not readily to hand.

Automatic fasteners are a particular favourite of commissioning engineers who must work on site, but up until now could not be used in hostile or wet environments because even though zinc-plated, they would eventually corrode.

Silos Cordoba reaps benefits of strong steel

Without compromising on strength, the weight of the finished products has been cut.
This has resulted in reduced transport costs, lower fuel consumption and quicker erection.

As a result, one third of the transport costs has been eliminated and erection has been speeded up by around 20 per cent.

The designs are the result of determined work to put high-strength steels to optimum use.

Jose Cabrera Cuevas, technical executive at Silos Cordoba, said: 'Less material is needed than in the past for an equally strong or even stronger product.
'Some time ago, a delivery of new silos to Slovakia weighed 1,200 tonnes and needed more than 30 trucks.

'In the past, a similar delivery would have weighed 1,500 tonnes and would have needed 42 trucks.

'So we saved more than 12m3 of diesel oil by switching to high-strength steels.
'In addition to the cut in costs, the emissions also decreased,' he added.
High-strength steel strips are roll-formed at the factory directly from coils and are punched and cut into finished cover sheets of exactly the right shape.
The factory also includes production lines for roof parts, load-bearing structures and other parts needed for every silo.

The thicknesses of the high-strength cover sheets vary depending on their locations on the silo.

The higher up, the thinner the sheets.
Every silo is 'tailored' to the order.

The span of the silos produced ranges from small silo buildings measuring only a few metres up to the largest units that are more than 30m high and upward of 20m in diameter.

The volume of the largest silo is about 20,000m3.

Around 1,200 to 1,300 cover sheets are needed for the biggest silo, in addition to several load-bearing structural parts.

Silos Cordoba uses high-strength, hot-dip galvanized sheet steel with minimum yield strengths of between 460MPa and 500MPa for the cover sheets.
Untreated, hot-rolled steel with a minimum yield strength of 600MPa is used for the load-bearing structural parts.

Plans are afoot to use steels of even higher strength and the company is studying the possibility of going up to 700MPa.

Profile system switches to stainless steel

MiniTec UK has expanded its Profile System range with a new and unique stainless steel profile for use as machine framing for harsh production environments, high temperature processes and other areas where aluminium profiles have limited use.

The new high grade SUS304 stainless profile retains the simplicity and cost benefits of its aluminium counterpart but has significantly improved temperature and load bearing characteristics as well as excellent corrosion resistance.

The 45 x 45mm square section profile is completely interchangeable with MiniTec's aluminium profile system and benefits from a stainless version of the time-saving Powerlock fastener that requires no premachining or special assembly tools.

When compared other manufacturer's stainless steel profile systems, the combination of a very competitive pricing policy and the simplicity of machine-free assembly makes the new MiniTec profile a very attractive machine framing choice.

Although extruded aluminium profile framing systems are now the preferred construction method for production machinery and test equipment in many areas of industry with well developed cost and time saving benefits, anodised aluminium has limited corrosion resistance which can inhibit its use in hostile, clean and outdoor environments.

The new stainless steel profile opens up a wide range of application opportunities for system integrators and OEMs of manufacturing, packaging and handling machinery used for industrial production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and medical devices.

The natural finish of the stainless profile will also be of benefit for clean room processing in semiconductor and electronics manufacture with the added advantage of excellent electrically conductive characteristics for ESD.

The new range is also highly well-matched to high temperature and caustic washdown processes and will be suited to outdoor framing construction and some architectural applications such as screens.

In addition to the stainless version of the Powerlock fastener, the range is complemented with stainless accessories such as end caps and mounting feet.
There are also hundreds of other accessories that may be used from MiniTec's aluminium Profile System range including mechanical, electrical and pneumatic components for guards, doors, panelling, conveying, handling, linear motion and workstations.

Ferramenta door levers in timeless stainless steel

It encapsulates the essence of simply defined, smooth lines in a variety of subtle stainless steel finishes.

The exquisitely crafted range of lever designs are available in timeless, Satin or Mirror-polished Stainless Steel as well as the increasingly popular Dual Satin and Polished finish.

Concealed bolt-through fixings at 38mm centres are compatible with most locks and latches to suit doors of 38 - 44mm thickness, while sprung roses are suitable for lightly sprung locks and tubular latches.

A number of matching escutcheons are available for Euro profile, oval cylinders and lever key functions.

The range comes with a 5-year guarantee.

Wrightstyle create blast proof steel glazing

Based in Devizes, Wiltshire, Wrightsytle provides expertise, technical support, component parts and accessories to licensed fabricators who produce and install glazing systems.

Recently, Wrightstyle have designed a blast resistant steel glazing system.
In the new product, the glass is bonded to the steel framing support system, allowing shocks to be absorbed by all the components rather than just the glass.

It also looks almost exactly the same as non-protected curtain walling and its profile is a slim 60mm.

This enables building designers to create aesthetically pleasing buildings that provide better protection from terrorist bombings and other explosions.
Infamous bombings in recent years have created more awareness of the need for added protection on buildings that are at increased risk of attack.

Providing safer glazing systems could be a major contributor to this effort.
In some urban explosions it is estimated that 80 - 85 per cent of secondary blast injuries are caused by flying pieces and shards of glass.

This is a horrendous thought and solutions to help eliminate these added risks are essential.
Wrightstyle's multi panel blast system has been extensively tested in order to find how well it withstands various explosions.

The independent studies were carried out at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria.
Initially the steel glazing system was subjected to an explosion that is the equivalent of 500 kilos of TNT, from a distance of 75 metres.
This blast strength is considered to represent an average sized lorry full of high explosives.

The System was said to be intact following the blast and shockwaves from this test.
Shortly after this, from a distance of 20 metres, a car bomb test was also performed.
Equating to the force of 100 kilos of TNT, the fact this test was nearer to the steel glazing system meant it was subject to higher pressures.

Again the system proved successful.
This indicates that in a real situation, the likelihood of some injuries to people within a building using the blast proof system would be significantly reduced.

Screw jacks come in stainless steel

A complete stainless steel screw jack is available from Power Jacks for linear motion applications where there is a high demand for corrosion resistance, hygienic installations and/or easy cleaning.

There are two series of stainless steel screw jacks the E-Series Metric screw jacks and the M-Series Imperial (inch) screw jacks.

The E-Series has six basic models in the range with capacities ranging from 10 to 300kN.

The M-Series has nine basic models in the range with capacities from 2 to 100t.
The screw jacks worm gearbox has a curved housing made from stainless steel and can be specified with a sealed gear cavity to keep water and other contaminants out.

Alternatively a standard gearbox construction can be specified.
The lubrication of the gearbox and the lifting screw can also be altered for the application for example food grade grease or nuclear grade grease.

As the requirements for each application can vary greatly so can the specification of the stainless steel screw jacks.

This can extend from a unit with just a stainless steel lifting screw and plated housing to a fully stainless steel screw jack.

Each screw jack has the same high standard array of options as other screw jack designs available from Power Jacks, which results in over 5000 available variants.
This allows the specification of the screw jack to be tailored to meet the requirements of the application taking all factors and conditions into account.

All stainless-steel screw jack designs are available for new installations or for retrofit replacements, offering compatible metric or imperial dimensions to standard alternatives.

Power Jacks stainless steel screw jacks have been successfully used in applications worldwide ranging from food processing lines to nuclear power stations to subsea oil wellheads.

Hasco expands flat steel range with P5600 grade

Customers have a choice of more than 3,000 available sizes.
All dimensions are grouped together under one order number, enabling the required ready-to-use sizes to be found easily and quickly.

Hasco's range of flat steel products has also been extended by many new materials.
Two examples are the highly-polishable case-hardening steel 1.2162 and the through-hardening cold-work steel 1.2363, which is additionally noted for its high-wear resistance.

The pre-hardened and tempered chromium stainless steel 1.2099 is also available as precision flat steel.

This material has good machining properties, dimensional stability and corrosion resistance.

All the dimensions and tolerances are oriented to practical applications and conform to DIN 59350.