FASTENINGS & ADHESIVES FEATURE


Climate change... Are we going nuts?


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Today’s ‘take, make and throw away’ model is no longer sustainable and going forward many products will need to be repairable. One way to work towards this Circular Economy is by specifying the right fastener, as JET PRESS explains


any of our products


today are disposed of before they’re really worn out, from mobile phones to toasters and even cars. However, this current


model of take, make and throw away is simply not sustainable – we will run out of key resources, air pollution is damaging the planet, and the oceans are filling up with plastic and other rubbish. So, the World Economic Forum, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and many other independent and government organisations are working towards a Circular Economy in which products are recycled to make new ones. From this year, all lighting, washing


machines, dishwashers and fridges sold in Europe have to be repairable. This Right to Repair legislation means that spares like door gaskets and thermostats have to be available for at least ten years. These parts have to be accessible and use commonly available tools without damaging the product. Similar Right to Repair legislation is in progress


in around 20 US states and in countries around the world. This is moving towards the idea of extended producer responsibility which makes the manufacturer of a product responsible for the entire lifecycle of the product. The Aviation and Automotive industries already have some procedures in place that support this concept. For example, whenever JET PRESS supplies


a part that will end up in a vehicle it has to have what is effectively a Parts Passport. This is based on the automotive industry’s International Material Data System (IMDS) and helps each manufacturer to comply with the End of Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive.


CHOOSE THE RIGHT FASTENER One way to move towards circularity is by using the right fastener. Designers can ensure we make products that have far less impact on the environment. Everything they design has the potential to be more repairable and easier to recycle. Bonding is a big issue when it comes to


recycling, but engineered fasteners such as clips and bolts can be unclipped or unbolted for maintenance and recycling. Once an item can no longer be repaired,


the engineered fastener itself can often be reused and, if not, recycled. As an example, products manufactured from nylon - which is widely used for a huge range of Rivets,


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Hole Plugs, Fir Tree Fasteners and Cable Clips supplied by JET PRESS – can be recycled. In fact, many nylon products are already made partly from recycled materials. For the entire product to last longer, all the


components also need to last. Ship builders, for example, know that their vessels will be afloat for many years and will need to function effectively for all that time – so they use products such as Accuride slides that are tested for 80,000 cycles.


THE BENEFITS OF STAINLESS STEEL Fasteners and components manufactured in stainless steel will last longer, even in harsh environments. The Camloc Stainless Steel Swift and Sure from JET PRESS is one example. Many more parts are being made in stainless steel these days including exhaust pipes, fuel pipes, etc. However, while this is good for extending the life of that particular part, it can cause other problems as parts that are attached to it can suffer with galvanic corrosion (sometimes called Bi-metallic corrosion). Galvanic corrosion occurs when two


dissimilar metals are immersed in a conductive solution – typically salt water – and are electrically connected. One metal (the cathode) is protected, whilst the other (the anode) is corroded. With traditional fasteners like nuts, bolts and washers this is easy to overcome by using stainless steel versions or by plating the non stainless steel items. Producing some parts from stainless steel is


very challenging. Making parts in a temper rolled stainless steel such as ASTM 301 means that the tooling needs to be made to over-bend the parts, which takes them beyond the natural elastic limit and allows for spring-back. This is ok if the part is large enough to allow for this over bend, but when you try to form a ‘U’ gap in a part to fit on a 1mm panel you cannot bend the part enough to allow for spring-back. This was an issue for an automotive customer


which asked JET PRESS for a stainless steel spring clip. The challenge was to make a carbon steel


clip that delivered a salt spray rating of 480 hours – even when in contact with stainless steel pipes. To meet the requirements, JET PRESS developed a Zinc-Nickel electroplate with a trivalent (CrIII) passivate treatment. A clear sealer called McDermid JS500 was then added. The combination of these finishes and


treatments resulted in a spring steel fastener that, even when in direct contact with stainless steel pipes, was able to pass a 480 hour salt spray test, with no signs of red rust. While this was a bespoke product, many of


the standard fasteners from JET PRESS are available with coatings. For instance, Palnut Regular Lock Nuts are available in a Hot Dip Galvanised version which offers corrosion resistance the equivalent of 1,000 hours of salt spray. The JET PRESS team has great experience of metal coatings and welcome calls from designers who want to talk about ways to prevent conventional or galvanic corrosion. There are, however, many more engineered


fasteners in the JET PRESS standard range that can be reused – such as its Bi-Fix Quarter Turn Fasteners which are designed for repeated use. And, if the fasteners are made from metal and can’t be reused, they can be recycled.


HELPING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY But, there is something you can do right now to help with the Circular Economy. Next time a zip fails on your boots, jacket or wherever – don’t ditch it, fix it. If you repair the zip on your jeans you will save money and you will save the planet 10,000 litres of polluted water. But, if a zip does break it’s usually the slider


that fails. With a ZlideOn repair kit you just cut the old slider off and snap on a new ZlideOn replacement. The British Army uses ZlideOn repair kits for tents and sleeping bags used in the Arctic Circle. Fixing a zip in these conditions can save lives as well as the planet.


JET PRESS www.jetpress.com Jet Press cable clips


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