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FASTENERS & SEALING
T
hermoplastics have become an obvious material consideration in new product development because of the performance, weight and
safety advantages they can offer versus other materials. Without the continuous innovation of fasteners, however, the potential of thermoplastics may not have been realised quite so rapidly or extensively.
THE RISE OF THERMOPLASTICS Rewind to the 1970s. It was a decade that saw major advances in manufacturing technology and the increased deployment of computer technology and automation. Social, political and economic pressures were impacting productivity and environmental issues were becoming an increasingly important consideration in any new product design or manufacturing process.
Termoplastics ticked many boxes but the challenges of how to use them to meet demanding performance standards in an efficient and cost effective way persisted. Rising to the challenge, EJOT developed the PT, a new type of self-tapping screw that would enable direct assembly into thermoplastics with no requirement for metal inserts. It was a tiny component that enabled a massive step forward.
UNIVERSAL JOINING PT made universal joining of plastics possible for the first time. Prior to its development, whilst there was the opportunity to join plastics together, no
The DELTA PT screws in a typical plastic assembly for the automotive industry
one screw serviced the whole range of plastics that were available. Hence, PT offered a pick and mix screw for pick and mix plastics.
The thread detail of the EVO-PT screw 34
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Dynamically and thermally stressed components could be fastened directly thanks to an innovative flank angle and thread pitch suitable for use with thin walled and flat designs. It made an immediate impact on the market because it offered the potential to deliver material savings and reduced cycle times during injection moulding. Nearly half a century later, the same basic principles of the PT are still
benefiting manufacturers, and that is largely due to the fact that it was created as a continuously evolving fastening platform. Tis has enabled EJOT’s R&D team to create new screw designs which respond to ever greater performance demands from design engineers, and develop completely new generations of the PT.
NEW GENERATIONS Te second generation came with the launch at the dawn of the new millennium of the EJOT DELTA PT. Tis extended the capabilities of the PT
UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF
THERMOPLASTICS
Thermoplastics have been key to enabling the creation of lighter weight, stronger and more durable products of all kinds over the past 50 years. One major facilitator of this growth in the range of possible applications has been continuous innovation in fastener technology
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