Plastic is everywhere, and for good reason. It’s a durable and inexpensive material that can be manufactured into almost any part imaginable. But before it ends up in our consumer products, plastics must be molded into shape.
A pressurized bolted flange joint assembly begins to leak, creating a safety hazard. A rotor with its blades separates from the nacelle and spins off a wind turbine, crashing to the ground. Under constant vibration from the engine of an ocean freighter, loose bolts on a large piece of mining equipment work their way off […]
Your SmartBolts shipment has arrived, along with a Certificate of Compliance, which lists your SmartBolt specifications including bolt dimensions, grade and finish, as well as proof load, and other important information. In this article, we will explain in simple terms the meaning of proof load and why it’s important to know the proof load when […]
When you tighten a bolt in a bolted joint, you use a twisting force, called torque. Torque is related to bolt tightness, but many additional factors – such as friction – combined into a single “nut factor” can have a significant impact on the relationship of torque to the tightness of the bolted joint. Here’s […]
From the dawn of civilization, lubricants have helped make it easier to slide objects past one another. Olive oil helped ancient Egyptians maneuver massive stone blocks into pyramids, and later melted animal fats greased chariot wheels. Up until the 1970s, oil from sperm whales was used to grease automobile transmissions. Today, a wide variety of […]
Double-headed bolts function by “twisting off” an auxiliary hex head once a designated torque has been reached. It is a method that indirectly attempts to indicate bolt tension. However, due to its reliance on torque, this system has several disadvantages when compared with the SmartBolts® Visual Indication System™. Are you using double-headed bolts in an […]
The traditional method for tightening fasteners is to turn the bolt head or nut using a torque wrench. While the tool may be very accurate, measuring torque only measures how difficult it is to turn the bolt. Measuring rotational force provides little information about what is actually holding your critical joints together – these are […]
Inspecting your bolts is an important job. Secure bolted joints have a direct impact on the reliability, performance and safety of your operations. However, physical bolt inspection can also be a labor-intensive and time-consuming activity. Our customers have reported that visual bolt inspections offer cost-savings and performance benefits compared to traditional maintenance methods which require […]
Most bolts are lazy. A machined piece of steel can’t do much on its own. A bolt doesn’t tighten itself, and it won’t tell you if it becomes loose. What else is your bolt not telling you? Bolts have complex and shifting relationships with their surroundings. Every day, in thousands of applications, clamp forces […]
Should you be using torque or tension to tighten your bolts? Our graphic shows you the answer!