McKechnie Aerospace's fastener group (Stand E8, Hall 4) has just announced an expansion of its late-configuration fastener programme. Created to cut the lead time required for specifying fasteners, late-configuration has been used successfully by a major European satellite company for the past three years, the company says.
The programme was originally conceived to solve problems caused by the relatively long lead times associated with fasteners custom-configured to meet very exact protrusion requirements. Lead times ranged from 12 to 24 weeks, often causing problems when design changes cropped up during final assembly.
Titanium
McKechnie has trimmed lead times to four weeks or less by making the fasteners from titanium and steel blanks stocked in all the commonly used diameters. After manufacturing to exact length, the fasteners are quickly put through the final laboratory, tensile and hardness tests specified by the customer. Cutting lead times allows customers to specify fasteners while the units in which they are destined to be used are actually in assembly. This allows length to be specified precisely, with a corresponding saving in weight.
Source: Flight Daily News
