As car designers accelerate the integration of lightweight materials into vehicle designs, collaboration between plastics and fastener engineers has become an imperative. Nowhere is this more evident than during the prototyping and pre-production stages, where fastener choices can significantly influence part performance, manufacturability, and long-term durability. When fastener integration is
Selecting the coating of a fastener is one of the first and most important decisions that an engineer must make. When making this decision, engineers must consider a myriad of important decisions. These decisions include: environmental conditions, corrosion resistance, temperature resistance, electrical conductivity, durability, and of course, cost of the
When designing a new product, thousands of seemingly minute engineering decisions turn into the final product. One of the most important decisions is choosing the fastener materials. While it may not sound like a big decision to a layman, it can have a profound downstream effect on the build quality,
Threaded inserts are essential in any industry where strong connections are needed, enhancing durability, design flexibility, and load-bearing capacity. Now, the need for the threaded insert is unquestioned. The hard part is deciding the material for the insert. Why? It’s because there are pros and cons for every common threaded
As a direct supplier to automotive OEMs, CFI and its engineers have a lot of experience with automotive components. While many components have a variety of uses, threaded inserts, in particular, are widely utilized throughout the average car. In this blog, we’ll cover the most common types of inserts and
Threaded inserts are utilized to strengthen and add threads to all kinds of materials, from plastics, to composites, to woods. But, how are they utilized in the automotive sector? Inserts have found their way into cars, trucks and SUVs for a wide range of uses, from interior components, to the
Exploring the Rising Need for Threaded Inserts Amid the Increasing Adoption of Aluminum in Modern Manufacturing In 2019, according to the International Aluminum Institute, the automotive industry made up 18% of the world’s total aluminum consumption annually. That number is expected to more than double to as much as 335
In a world filled with next-generation materials, is there still room for the threaded insert? Even in non-electrified vehicles, weight has grown as safety protocols demand more safety systems. According to NADA, the average weight of a new vehicle sold in the US in 2022 was 4,329 pounds – 1,000
When we work with our partners, we see them go through some of the same engineering struggles again and again when they’re considering fasteners. One of the most common challenges manufacturers face is deciding between off-the-shelf fasteners or custom options tailored to their specific project needs. Designing a new product
Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) has long been a critical metric for buyers when deciding the overall quality of a vehicle. That’s why we, as fastener and plastics engineers, have to begin thinking about NVH quite literally at the nuts and bolts level. Whether you’re talking about EVs or traditional
