It’s understood that any system will only be as good as the components that go into it. There’s no field where this rings truer than in the world of aerospace engineering. While we all understand what fasteners are as a concept, they play a much more critical role when we incorporate them into the complex machines that we rely on to explore some of the most challenging environments in the universe. This is, in short, why fasteners are of critical importance in the aerospace industry.
To understand what makes these relatively inconspicuous components so crucial in the aerospace industry, we need to dive into what qualities make for effective aerospace fasteners and the different types of fasteners we rely on today.
What are Fasteners?
Despite their size, airplanes are relatively delicate and highly complex machines, made from countless parts that all need to work perfectly to ensure their performance. Flight safety is always the number one priority for any aerospace program, and thus, the fasteners that hold these parts together need to be of the highest quality possible. This is why manufacturers use materials like titanium, steel, aluminum, and highly engineered superalloys.
Here’s a quick rundown of the most common fasteners you will encounter in the aerospace industry:
- Aircraft Rivets: These manufactured parts comprise smooth cylindrical shafts with heads on one of their ends. Depending on their location and application, manufacturers may deform or melt them to create a permanent weld, primarily using them to join the metal sheets that form most aircraft bodies.
- Aircraft Nuts: Nuts work with bolts and must be made from the same materials as the components they connect. They are the chief defense against vibrative stress in metal structures thanks to their sealing and self-locking characteristics.,
- Aircraft Screws: Bolts and nuts, in conjunction with screws, deliver the exceptional fastening power required for aeronautic applications. Aircraft screws are the most common fastener in modern aircraft and generally possess external threads on their shafts, although they are pointers at one end and have higher helical ridges. Their designs allow them to fit snugly into components with matching internal threads.
- Aircraft Bolts: Fasteners with external threads, bolts hold non-permanent joints together and provide exceptional fastening strength under the dynamic load conditions typical of aircraft operations.
Qualities of Effective Aerospace Fasteners
All precision part manufacturers for aerospace applications must meet the highest quality standards outlined in AS9100D protocols. These stringent guidelines ensure every participant in the aerospace engineering supply chain earns their qualifications and certifications.
In short, these guidelines guarantee that all reliable aerospace fasteners and precision parts have the following qualities:
- High Electrical and Thermal Conductivity: Aircraft parts must withstand significant temperature changes and electrical events that occur during normal operations. In the interests of safety and reliable performance, these need to be resistant to heat, cold and electrical interference.
- High Fatigue, Shear, and Tensile Strength: A plane in flight absorbs high stress and pressure, primarily through the fasteners that hold the airframe components together. Aerospace manufacturers must consider pushing, pulling, bending, and aging forces, with fasteners playing a crucial role.
- Self-Locking and Self-Sealing Capacities: A typical plane will have a pressurized cabin designed to support the life and cargo inside it and protect it from the outside environment. This is especially critical where high altitude, high speed or extra-terrestrial space flight endeavors are involved. Fasteners must have sealing and locking capabilities to ensure the aerostructure is impervious to external influences..
- Oxidation and Corrosion Resistance: Typical metals often face the risk of deterioration and eventual failure owing to the negative effects of corrosion and oxidation over the course of their working lives. Superalloys, titanium, and other high-quality materials make the fasteners used in the aerospace industry oxidation and corrosion resistant.
- Resistance to Harsh Conditions: Aerospace engineers design for harsh conditions where failure is catastrophic, unlike land-based machines on factory floors.
A typical machine failure that causes a few hours of downtime or lost profits can be a fatal disaster in the aerospace industry.
Final Thoughts
Recent controversies about flight safety standards highlight the need to focus on aircraft manufacturing and its components. Safety and reliability are essential in aerospace, so source your components from the best suppliers.
B&G Manufacturing is ready to partner with you on your next project. We have the skills, dedication, experience and qualifications required to deliver customized parts to suit your every need, providing you with the ability to achieve the highest standards of performance possible. As part of our efforts to help the global aerospace industry attain optimal levels of effectiveness and safety, we provide collaborative in-house testing services to aerospace manufacturing partners all over the world, so you can be sure that our products will always be at the cutting edge of technological innovation. If you are looking for safe, reliable, durable, and cost-effective precision parts, contact us today. You won’t regret it!
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