Fastener Testing

Fasteners play a crucial role in every structure as they provide the necessary strength and durability to hold various materials together. Nuts, bolts, screws, and studs are commonly used as fasteners.

It is crucial to ensure that fasteners are comprised of the correct materials, suitable for their intended use. If a fastener fails to perform successfully whilst in use, it can lead to detrimental consequences for structures, and the health and safety of people around them. Fasteners make up a large majority of overall structural integrity and can cause the whole structure to fail if they do not operate correctly. Failed fasteners have previously been the cause behind plane crashes, industrial accidents, and ship disasters, such as oil spills and sinking accidents. This can cause negative legal implications for the companies involved in the fastener’s supply chain, so testing is crucial to prevent these issues from occurring.

Fasteners can be tested in a variety of different ways. At Rotech laboratories, we are able to test and verify fasteners through services such as corrosion, mechanical testing, metallurgical testing, and chemical analysis, for alignment with a variety of UKAS specifications and standards.

We test all kinds of fasteners, from nuts, bolts, rivets, screws and more. One of our areas of expertise is testing full sized fasteners (unmachined fasteners), as well as tests on machined fasteners ready for market. We also offer testing on feedstock material in bar form, which is used in to manufacture fasteners, whether by cold heading, heat treatment, forging, thread rolling and many other processes.

Fastener test results are always provided to the customer, including fastener suppliers, manufacturers and external third parties involved in compliancy. It is extremely important for the customer to understand why the composition of a fastener may need alterations, or why as a consequence it has failed. This allows the supply chain to alter processes, to prevent failures from occurring, saving money, time, and the health and safety of end-users.

Outsourcing fastener samples and materials to an independent testing laboratory such as ourselves, is a crucial step in ensuring products and materials are safe for use. If a fastener manufacturer or supplier does not have the capacity and expertise for testing, it is a cost-effective, and safe way for ensuring relevant compliancy.

It is crucial to conduct independent testing on a fastener to determine if the product and its materials are suitable for their intended purpose. This allows manufacturers, suppliers, and testing laboratories to assess whether the product has been manufactured correctly, with the appropriate materials and treatments to withstand the required conditions. Our laboratory specialises in testing the maximum strain that a fastener can endure before breaking or bending. We also perform macro and micro examinations to closely examine the composition of materials. In the event that a fastener fails during use, a sample can be sent to our laboratory for testing to prevent future failures.