It is not uncommon for fastener manufacturers to adopt an SOP (standard operating procedure) and perform final inspection of the product after it is completed.
Do you believe final inspection is the best detection method?
Not always. If the product was contracted out of the manufacturers facility for heat treatment, patch, coatings or sorting, many things can potentially happen when the product is shipped out for further processing that the manufacturer cannot control. Product may be damaged, mixed with other types of product, or missed critical processes such as heat treatment or baking requirements. At minimum, all containers received back from outside services should go through a thorough visual inspection, and the certifications received back from contractors should be reviewed, as it is important to understand them.
So how many processes are there to make a simple hardened hex head cap screw with a patch?
Typically, there are manufacturing drawings created by an engineering group that are then reviewed and officially released for production. Wire is then ordered, sometimes delivered in a raw state, then cleaned, pickled, and drawn to a specific diameter. When completed, off to production:
- Heading/Forming
- Cleaned
- Thread Rolling
- Secondary (drilling/turning/milling/straightening), if applicable
- Heat Treatment
- Surface Treatment
- Patch Application
So which process is most important?
They all are! If a non-conformity is not detected “in process”, the manufacturer will invest more time and resources in further processes, and hopefully detect the non-conformity during a final sample inspection, or even worse, at the customer.
Contact us through ProvenProductivity@bossard.com, and find out what robust quality processes we encourage Bossard manufacturers to practice to ensure good quality fasteners for our customers.
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Tony Peters
Quality Manager
