Developing solutions for tomorrow’s fastening challenges

Supporting customers with fastener insights to transform concepts into reality.

Technology is shaping the future of the construction industry more than ever before, enabling the development of building components that deliver better quality, longer lasting and more sustainable buildings. And it is here that EJOT UK is working to ensure the building envelope sector and wider construction industry can benefit from the latest technological developments in fastener design, testing and performance analysis through its Applitec Centre.

The technical team working within this facility are increasingly utilising technology to drive better performance of fasteners and increase the value they offer in the built environment. They support customers, OEMs and EJOT colleagues working here in the UK and around the world, working proactively to help building designers, engineers and installers achieve ever higher standards with fastening products and systems.

 

Taking a simple idea to a workable prototype

Technical advisor Dylan Roe plays a key role in the Applitec team, specialising on product design developments. He is immersed in CAD (computer aided design), which includes using SolidWorks software for designing new products and modifying existing ones to achieve new design and performance goals. This facet of his work is initially completed almost entirely in a digital environment, which means physical resources are not required until much later in the new product development (NPD) process.

Dylan says: “SolidWorks is an important tool for us as it enables us to generate the files required for prototyping. We also use it to assist with CAM (computer aided manufacturing) and there are other elements within the software that will be increasingly important in future.

“For example, it will enable us to unlock the power of FEA (finite element analysis), which allows us to see where the stress points are digitally, and where the forces are localised using colour gradients. This makes it possible to predict how the product will perform in-situ with a high degree of accuracy to further streamline the NPD process.”

Working closely with EJOT UK’s Technical Manager, Jon Knaggs, Technical Development Manager, Brian Mack and the project lead, Dylan takes a fastening concept and develops it into a viable solution. This can involve creating totally new products or making modifications to existing products in the EJOT range.

 

Unlocking 3D printing’s potential for rapid prototyping

Once the virtual design is approved, Dylan and the team progresses it to prototyping which increasingly utilises 3D printing technology. This rapid prototyping is predominantly used as part of R&D projects to take the concept for a particular product to the next stage, saving time and money compared to the traditional process.

Dylan adds: “It’s a world away from how prototyping would have worked in the past, with significant time and cost benefits. We can generally 3D print a product the same day it is approved, and see if it works in principle within two working days.”

This technology also supports EJOT UK’s testing and analysis processes as it allows the team to create elements for equipment within the Applitec laboratory. These include critically important 3D-printed jigs for its extensometer, which is used to measure the extension of materials under load, and a device for torque transducers that fits into the end of a screw gun to measure torque. These examples show how its 3D printer integrates with other parts of the business, not just for NPD, but to expand the standard Applitec kit to deliver even more.

 

Rigorous analysis of installation processes and techniques

Another dimension to product development within the Applitec Centre is installation analysis. Here, the team uses a state of the art Kistler machine for a number of reasons, as Dylan explains:

“The Kistler machine enables us to evaluate the specified performance versus the actual performance and the test data it generates also feeds in to quality control. We can determine the revolutions taken to install the fastener, how much end load it took in real time, plus the installation torque and speed.”

Installation analysis mimics how the fixings would work in conjunction with substrates in site applications. By replicating the process being used on site, Dylan and the Applitec Team can provide the equivalent values to installers who will be using screw guns. Hence why it is not only key to NPD, but also important for resolving issues that customers may be facing.

The data also allows the team to determine the theoretical point at which the material is stripped or when snapping of the fastener may occur backed with evidence on a factual basis, rather than estimating.

Installation analysis is also important in maintaining quality processes, for example to confirm consistency of products arriving at EJOT UK from other manufacturing subsidiaries in the EJOT Group. And the process is also utilised by OEMs who may turn to EJOT in the development of their new products to determine which fasteners would enable optimum installation.

 

Collaboration with EJOT Group colleagues in Germany

Dylan is not only part of a highly skilled and experienced technical team here in the UK, but additionally supported by his colleagues at EJOT Group based in Germany. In certain projects, Dylan is able to make minor modifications to an established EJOT fastener for his design and manufacturing colleagues in Germany to develop further and progress into production.