Monthly Archives: April 2014

Fasteners and Mining, Manufacturing

Custom Fasteners for the Unique Needs of the Mining Industry

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One of the many advantages of being a custom fastener manufacturer is that we are able to meet specific, challenging, and often changing needs within the industries we work with. We know that fastener requirements can be quite unique, and we also know that as industries change and grow, so do their needs.

We have provided custom fasteners for the mining industry for many years, and have seen the changes take place. Currently, a lot of mining is happening in the oil sands of Wyoming and Canada, which is currently a hot bed of mining activity. The industry has developed new, innovative techniques to extract oil from these sands, and as a result, there are new equipment needs.

We’re currently working with many mining equipment manufacturers, producing larger custom fasteners for their bulldozers, excavators, cranes, and large mining trucks—all of the machinery used in the active oil sands arena. Oftentimes, within this area, larger sized fasteners are needed for parts. For example, a recent project we worked on involved bolts that weighed 60 pounds each.Large custom mining bolts

As custom manufacturers experienced in adaptation, we are regularly engineering our fasteners specifically to these applications and requirements, fabricating them to not only fit the larger sizes, but also choosing materials that are high strength and able to perform in the temperature extremes of these environments. In fact, this particular market is a niche for us—typically large parts and shorter run productions—and we’re able to meet these needs, no matter how challenging or unique.

2013 was a down year, but as industries are changing and growing, we’ve seen a significant increase in the start of 2014, and we expect to continue seeing this. We look forward to continuing to meet the needs of the mining industry, and all industries we serve.

3D Printing, Prototyping

Is Manufacturing on the Cusp of a 3D Printing Revolution?

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Some people are describing it as the catalyst for the next Industrial Revolution. Others are predicting it will one day become so commonplace that it can be found in a home. It’s no surprise, then, that more and more businesses are paying close attention to the emergence of 3D printing.

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing is one of the newest and latest technologies to affect the manufacturing industry. According to this article, 3D printing allows for “designers and engineers to imagine, computer-model, and build objects within hours…objects are built from scratch, layer by layer, with no wasted materials.” Due to this technology, the manufacturing process is aimed to change dramatically.

Already, we are beginning to see how 3D printing is being incorporated into the industry. We certainly feel as if manufacturing is on the cusp of a 3D printing explosion, and we do believe that it is going to be the future of manufacturing and industry. But how will it directly affect our company and our business of custom fasteners? To start, we think the additive technology will make the machining process much smoother and it will be used with a wide range of materials. Not only do we believe that at some point in the future we will be using 3D printing to produce fasteners, but we also believe it will be incredibly useful when it comes to prototyping, especially in rapid prototyping. As a company that does a fair amount of prototype work, we can see how 3D printing can revolutionize the process.

While we are not investing in 3D printing at the moment, we are certainly aware of its potential and we’re watching its progress in the industry. We’re excited to see what comes next!