Fastener Technology

Whether you’re looking for conductive fasteners for the distribution of energy, fastening elements for white goods or electrical cabinets, or circuit board micro fasteners, the team at Bossard can and will help. We offer a range of flexible and versatile fastening solutions for virtually all electrical enclosure applications.

Best of all, our service continues and exceeds expectations where the palette of standard products ends. Let’s take a closer look at some of our instrumental fastening solutions for electrical cabinet applications.

Fastening Solutions for Electrical Cabinets & Enclosures

The safety and security of your electrical cabinet is paramount. Bossard offers a variety of fastening solutions to protect equipment from the environment as well as people from the equipment. We provide solutions for fasteners in electrical engineering that reduce costly, manual steps in production and save space.

• Venting elements
• Hinges
• BCT®* blind rivet nuts
• PEM® clinching fasteners
• Wiring ducts
• Cable entry plates/systems
• Latches

Fasteners for Energy Distribution Application

Your energy distribution fasteners must boast high-temperature resistance as well as anti-vibration qualities. These two attributes guarantee a consistent clamp load, which aids in safe energy distribution in low and high-voltage applications.

• Cable glands
• Compression cable lugs
• Locking nuts
• Wrap sleeving
• PEM® clinching bolts and nuts
• Non-tension compression joints
• Grounding cage nuts
• Cable ties

Circuit Board Fastening Solutions

Circuit boards represent one of the most delicate and smallest applications of electrical engineering. Because of this, circuit boards require space-saving fasteners with controlled mounting. These fasteners shouldn’t place any additional stress on the panel.

• Threaded inserts
• PEM® micro-press studs
• Speed rivets
• PEM® right-angle clinching fasteners
• Stand-offs
• PEM® micro-clinching fasteners
• PEM® captive panel screws
• PEM® click-in bolts

Why Choose Bossard for Electrical Cabinet Fastening Applications?

Thousands of satisfied customers across the world have turned to Bossard for premium quality products and services. As an industry leader, we repeatedly exceed expectations with end-to-end solutions and more:

• One-stop-shop. Bossard is home to more than one million fastening solutions, including several fasteners for mechanical and electrical purposes.
• Tailor-made solutions. The best solution for every problem is usually not an all-purpose one. And if the best solution for your application doesn’t exist, we will make it.
• Expert consulting. The Bossard engineering team will guide you through the process regarding innovative developments, alternative fastening solutions, or unique material requisitions.
• Optimized delivery condition. We have more than 80 Bossard units throughout the world, so quick responses and expedited delivery times are guaranteed.
• We own our test laboratories. Because we own our laboratories, we can meet the highest quality standards. We own ISO-IEC 17025-accredited test laboratories.
• Smart Factory Logistics. We help you manage B- and C-parts in a transparent and leaner way while you concentrate on your core competencies.

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*BCT® is a registered trademark owned by BBA srl Italy

Joint failure can be disastrous, particularly if the fastener is holding together two critical pieces of machinery. For example, fatigue may prove insidious because it is slow. A crack may develop slowly in a component that works perfectly for years and then suddenly, the fastener breaks, and the machine it supports collapses.

Avoiding Bolt Failure

Joint failures can be avoided if some basic principles are understood and if the proper fasteners are used. Knowing which strength and finish to select along with using the appropriate tightening method are key factors to ensuring safe designs.

What is the first step to acquiring the necessary knowledge? Bossard’s Expert Education services are the place to start.

We believe that customers like you should become experts in fastening technology. You can then have the knowledge and skills to make decisions at your manufacturing site about what nuts and bolts can improve the quality and safety of your products.

Formats

You can achieve Expert Education through different learning formats that are tailored to your needs:

• These live programs reveal relevant fastening topics by mixing theory and practice. After interactive learning, you gain hands-on experience. You can join one of our public seminars unless you prefer that we set up a customized private program only for your company employees.
• If seminars seem too distant or inconvenient to attend or set up, we can show you short learning sequences that you can conveniently take at your desk.
• E-learning. The most convenient option lets you learn about fastening technology whenever you have time through self-study. You can learn everything from related standards to fastener anatomy and function.

What You Gain

You gain the following benefits from our services:

• Knowledge about assembly technology and how to pick fasteners when designing your products.
• How to avoid joint problems like thread galling and hydrogen embrittlement.
• Safer products that are more economical to produce with the correct bolt choices.
• Fulfillment of quality standards.
• Smoother production process.

Fastening Topics

The following are just some of the topics you can learn through our services. Most of them demand a full seminar or webinar to complete. However, each topic can also be broken up into smaller units for e-learning.

• Anatomy of a Fastener – Covers heads, threads, grades, and finishes as well as manufacturing of fasteners.
• Fastener Cost Drivers – What makes fasteners so expensive, and what steps can you take to keep costs to a minimum.
• Plating & Coating – Learn all about common fastener finishes and when to use them along with recent changes in the industry including regulations and new products/trends.
• Cost-Efficient Assembly – Tips from the experts on good design practices for keeping fastener costs down.
• Thread Forming Screws for Plastic and Metal – Learn how to save money designing with thread-forming fasteners.
• Securely Fastened Joints: Keeping Joints Tight – Learn the mechanics of joint loosening and strategies to keep them tight.
• Securely Fastened Joints: Torque vs. Tension – Learn about the torque/tension relationship and the variables that need to be considered/controlled to ensure solid and safe joint design.

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The fasteners used in your product are critical and can’t be understated. They literally hold your product and/or process together. As such, it only makes sense to design your product focusing on the fasteners from the very beginning. Fortunately, you have a team of experience, support, and guidance at Bossard.

As the leading name in fasteners and fastening technologies, Bossard offers decades of in-depth knowledge on different assembly methodologies, technical resources, and fastening joints. Regardless of the application, we will work to create fasteners and solutions that are the ultimate game-changer for your success. Let’s take a closer look at how Bossard can help elevate your new product development strategy.

Better Design + Better Development = Better Products

We get it — designing a high-quality, safe product while facing increasing competition and time constraints is a challenge. And while the functionality of a fastener may seem to be trivial, the requirements are especially demanding.

The Bossard Expert Design team can help elevate the quality of your product with materials recommendations and optimized conditions for assembly. On the other hand, we can assist with advanced prototyping based on our extensive knowledge of CAD big data and 3D prototyping. When you partner with Bossard, you’ll be privy to a unique suite of benefits and advantages:

• Superior in-place costs: select the most ideal fastening design.
• Reduced cost of production with streamlined, faster assembly processes.
• Lowered life cycle costs from having the best quality of fastener from the beginning.

Access Assembly Technology Expert

Bossard application engineers are full of process optimization, continuous innovation, and efficiency knowledge. When you partner with us, you’ll open the door to each of these factors to gain a competitive edge in manufacturing.

The Bossard Three-Stage Methodology

Using an innovative three-stage methodology centered around slashing costs and reducing production time, we guide each project from product concept to production.

1. From the beginning, we incorporate a focus on fastening joints to ensure perfect products.
2. We will work to fine-tune your fastening process to perfection with proven methodologies, smart sensors, and industrial analytics.
3. At Bossard, we believe in sharing our expert knowledge with those we serve. We are proud to be experts in the science of fastening.

Assembly Technology Expert Services

From beginning to end, our Assembly Technology Expert specialists will work to help you achieve the most intelligent solution for all fastening challenges. A few key services we offer include:

• Expert Teardown
• Expert Education
• Expert Assortment Analysis
• Expert Design
• Expert Test Services
• Expert Walk

Ready to learn more? Contact Bossard today at ProvenProductivity@bossard.com.

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Bossard is a leader in fastening solutions for an array of industries, including railway applications. As a leader in the industry, we offer a range of solutions engineered for the reliability, high speed, and promptness required to help make trains operate faster and more economically.

Because we understand the necessary trends and requirements of the industry, we have the proven ability to provide fasteners that meet or exceed the highest safety and quality standards. We provide solutions that help increase efficiency and productivity. We offer exclusive fastening solutions for all parts of any railway system, including

• Supply Units
• Rail Vehicle Body
• Bogie
• Energy Supply
• Interior

Let’s take a closer look at key fastener solutions offered for the bogie.

Key Requirements for Bogie Fastening Solutions

No matter the type or size of the train, the chassis or framework that carries the wheel set is a critical component. The primary requirements of the bogie are operating maintainability, reliability, and traveling comfort throughout the suspension and damping system. In addition to several other desirable attributes, bogie fasteners must be:

• Resistant to extreme temperature changes
• Vibration-proof
• Resistant to corrosion
• Able to maintain clamp force of assembly

Bossard Offers Tailored Bogie Fastening Systems

Bossard offers a range of different fastening systems and solutions for the bogie. Some of our top bogie fastening systems are listed below.

Bogie Lock Washers

Bogie lock washers are designed to deliver exceptional security through friction and mechanical locking. Our bogie lock washers are:

• Suitable for coated and sensitive surfaces
• Boast no loosening and minimal loss of pretension force
• Ribbed for higher resistance to vibrations
• Designed to avoid surface damage while tightening

Bogie Hex Head Locking Screws

Our bogie hex head locking screws feature a cross-functional design with a serrated flange. Key attributes include:

• Will not unscrew or become loose
• A serrated, cross-functional washer that is integrated into the flange
• Prevents the likelihood of forgetting safety washers
• Prevents the possibility of using the wrong orientation

Bogie Wedge Locking Washers

Bossard’s bogie wedge locking washers have a unique self-locking design through tension. Features include:

• High retention of the clamp load
• Easy and quick dismantling and installation
• High resistance to corrosion
• Excellent resistance to vibration
• Maximized safety against loosening

Bogie Tension Control Bolts

Our bogie tension control bolts ensure the cost-efficient installation of high-strength pre-loaded bolts. These key fasteners offer:

• A safe tightening process because of a high-level clamp load
• Innovative anti-corrosion protection that is designed to accept paint
• Delivers consistent tension even in a high-vibration environment

Connecting the Railway Industry to Better Solution

At Bossard, our engineers specialize in advising clients on the best fastening solution, specific material requisitions, and innovative developments. In the event the most ideal solution doesn’t exist, we will work closely with you to develop one that best meets your needs.

Contact Bossard today at ProvenProductivity@bossard.com.

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Hardness defines how a material resists permanent deformations such as indentation. Because measuring this characteristic is a mature technology, several hardness methods are available that produce different hardness values.

Parts like fasteners are typically tested at heat treatment to affect the process and the outcome. However, these tests are also conducted on raw materials for high-strength fasteners or some coating finishes.

Advantages of Hardness Testing

Such tests are quick and easy, relatively inexpensive, and can work on finished components since they do not destroy the specimen, which can be of any size and shape, such as a fastener. In general, mechanical hardness tests rely on an indenter made of tough material, such as hardened steel, carbide, or diamond. It presses into the surface of the test component at a specific force.

The hardness values come from either how deeply the indenter penetrates or the size of the indent with smaller indents signifying harder materials. Higher numbers mean harder materials.

Types of Tests

The following are just three of the major hardness tests. Tables are available for converting one hardness test scale to another. However, some of these values are interpolated because there is no direct mathematical correlation among scales. You should only use conversion tables as a last resort.

Brinell Hardness Test

In the early 20th century, the Brinell Ball Test stood out as the most popular. It presses a hard ball into the test material with a known load. Based on EN ISO 6506-1 standards, a typical value from this test is 600 HBW 1/30/15, which means:

• 600 – Brinell hardness number
• HB – Hardness symbol for Brinell
• W – Indenter type, which is tungsten carbide
• 1 – Diameter of the ball in millimeters.
• 30 – kilogram-force (applied force)
• 15 – Duration of the test force in seconds

Rockwell Hardness Test

The Rockwell Hardness Test starts with a light load and then continues with a heavier load at a specific duration with an indenter. The heavier load is removed, leaving only the indent by the light load. The difference in depth between the two loads represents the Rockwell hardness number. A typical value from this test is 60HRBW, which means:

• 60 – Rockwell hardness value
• HR – Hardness symbol for Rockwell
• B – Rockwell scale symbol
• W – Ball type, which is S for steel and W for tungsten

Vickers Hardness Test

This test uses a square-based pyramid indenter. (A variant of this test, Micro Vickers testing is reserved for a small or limited area. An example is the carburized surface of a gear for testing the surface, core, and carburized thickness.)

The test impresses as a reference for deciding a dispute between hardness results. A typical value from this test is 640HV30/10, which means:

• 640 – Vickers hardness value
• HV – Hardness symbol for Vickers
• 30 – Kilogram force (applied force)
• 10 – Duration in seconds

Contact Us

Do you want more information on hardness testing methods or how it can affect your choice of fasteners? Then please contact us today at ProvenProductivity@bossard.com.

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Whether your products are used in systems that are common or critical, you want to ensure that they meet the high standards of your target market. Bossard can help with 14 state of the art testing labs on three continents that boast ISO/IEC 17025 certification. Our services reward you with high quality at minimal risk.

Our facilities can take charge of the following wide range of fastener tests on your products.

• Tensile Testing and Compression Strength Testing is a standard procedure that can determine yield point, tensile strength, elongation fracture, and other mechanical characteristics.
• Hardness Tests / Hardness Profile Measurements rely primarily on measure indentations to test mechanical properties such as case hardness, hardness profile, surface hardness, and core hardness.
• Friction Coefficient Testing / Torsion Testing can find the coefficient of friction to determine the clamping force and tightening torque. We recommend this test to ensure that screws are tightened in the correct order.
• Whether at our laboratories or at your location, Torque Analysis uses your original working pieces, which are made of plastic and metals, to determine the tightening torque of your application.
• Coating Thickness Measurement measures the thickness of the required protective coating by using X-rays and a coating thickness gauge.
• Spectral Analysis identifies materials and ensures quality control of semi-finished and finished products.
• Fastening Optimization helps you to choose the right fastener for your application to minimize costs in the supply chain and during production and assembly. We can also deliver the optimum specifications for your fastener.
• Loosening Analysis examines the bolted joint to determine the right clamping force when subject to different vibrations, forces to transmit, and temperatures of use. It can determine the best way to secure the joint based on the fastener and its function.
• Corrosion Analysis looks at how corrosion can affect fasteners and other components. We help you choose reliable countermeasures for reducing or removing corrosion from the wide array of corrosion protection systems.
• Salt Spray Test is a standardized test for evaluating corrosion protection. It determines how different anti-corrosion coatings react on test pieces that are sprayed with a saline solution in the test chamber.
• Ultra-Sonic Preload Measuring looks at the preloads that are generated when a screw is tightened. Because measuring the preload/clamping force is not easy, we use a special ultra-sonic measuring device that can evaluate how a change in screw length affects preload.
• Failure Analysis determines the root cause of failures and the best ways to prevent them. Among possible reasons are change of friction conditions, too much or too little tightening, loss of preload due to setting, and corrosion.,
• Joint Design Calculation, which is based on the MDESIGN tool, enables us to recommend the best design and assembly based on calculations of contact surface pressure, variation of friction, assembly method, and different expansion coefficients of fasteners and other components.

To find out more about how any of our tests can help make quality assurance more reliable and improve the design and assembly of your products, please contact us today at ProvenProductivity@bossard.com.

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Hardness Measuring Techniques and Application to Fasteners and Hardware

When you’re looking for the right fasteners to use with electrical vehicles, trust Bossard to deliver smart solutions. We understand that your customers are focused on social responsibility, environmental concerns, and sustainable CO2 balance. We can help you choose the fasteners that make your products competitive now and in the future.

Why Bossard?

Relying on our expertise rewards you with several advantages:

We act as your one-stop shop with over a million fastening solutions, control elements, and electric assembly accessories. If you’re looking for a specific fastener for EV development, you’ll find it at Bossard.

Our many years of market experience in the EV sector has produced many successful projects and long-standing relationships with innovative partners.

The quality of our suppliers is backed by test laboratories with ISO-IEC 17025 certification in 10 countries around the world.

One size does not fit all with us. We tailor our solutions to your individual requirements.

Through Smart Factory Logistics, you can focus on your core expertise while we fully automate the logistics behind B- and C-part management and make them more transparent.

When you need assistance in developing products, you can consult our Expert Design service to help you choose the right fasteners and materials from the beginning. We can also assist with prototypes and small series.

Body in White Fasteners

Body in White (BIW), which is the main frame of the vehicle that has been joined together using different types of joining processes. The attachment to this structure has many different demands and will usually require high-strength fasteners that are corrosion resistant and are easy to assemble and disassemble. To meet those requirements, we offer the following types of fasteners:

Weld Nuts & Studs

Through welding, metal fasteners such as weld studs, weld pins, and threaded studs and weld nuts are joined to another metal object through an arc at the speed of lightning. The process can be highly automated and depending on the type of welding it can only requires access to one side of the material.

PEM® Large Diameter Clinching

Hardened clinch fasteners increase thread strength and produce clean assemblies. The fasteners can either be installed In-DIE during the forming process or offline using a C-Frame. There are no thermal stresses even with the high resistance to push and torque outs. The resulting clean work environment reduces any concerns about the environment.

Self-Piercing Technology, Flow Drill Screws

These fasteners combine drilling and thread forming to increase the speed of one-sided assembly, which drops to less than one minute. Because the rivets are self-piercing, the material experiences no heat zones during installation. The flow drill screws are highly resistant to vibration and loosening torque.

Structural Blind Rivets

Because they stand out as a strong solution for structural assembly, these fasteners are excellent for high-tensile applications. Only one side is needed for access and one fastener can accommodate up to four rivets with large diameters. The result is an attachment that is both durable and reliable.

Next Steps

If you have any questions or want to get started with our solutions, please contact us today at ProvenProductivity@bossard.com.

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