WINTER 2020

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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
FAB GROUP FASTENER INDUSTRY INNOVATION from page 58
Tim O’Keeffe, G.L. Huyett’s
CEO, notes, “This project
has elevated our game in data
management in general, and we
are now engaged in an accelerated
learning process to understand the
algorithms that Dr. Chau is writing.”
O’Keeffe noted that one table
has been delivered to the project
containing over 1.4 billion unique
fields. “As a master distributor,
our demand is difficult to forecast and thinly traded so
our goal with this project is to better fine tune inventory to
intermittent demand. Eventually we hope to move upstream
and actually tie back upstream data such as industrial
production by sector on the demand side, to changes in
lead time and economic variables on the supply side to
better align inventory and usage. It is challenging.”
Adam Pratt, President of Sherex Fastening Solutions
LLC., a manufacturer of thin sheet fasteners & vibrational
loosening elimination fasteners, is rolling out 3D additive
MEMBERS OF THE FAB GROUP SURVEYING A PEER’S
OPERATIONS AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK.
manufacturing capabilities to
produce prototypes for testing
new engineering concepts. “Our
products are highly engineered,”
notes Pratt, who was 2018 Young
Fastener Professional of the Year
and NFDA Associate Chair. “If
we can provide an actual working
prototype at a reasonable cost, we
expand our market overall, and can
enhance our engineering support to
our customers. 3D printing allows us to shorten our product
development cycle and bring our problem solving fastening
solutions to market faster.”
“These guys are hard to keep up with, with all this going
on,” adds Nick Ruetz, FAB Group member and President of
AIS, an MSC Company. “I am learning right alongside these
guys and it is making us all better businesspeople.”
If you are interested in joining the FAB Group and are
an OEM Fastener Distributor with greater than $10 million in
sales, please contact Tim O’Keeffe at tokeeffe@huyett.com.
FASTENER ADVISORY BOARD
ANTHONY Di MAIO ADVANTAGE OF USING BLIND RIVETS from page 62
To install a blind rivet, the mandrel is pulled by the
setting tool to a predetermined tensile force and when
this predetermined tensile force is reached, the mandrel
will break at a predetermined point inside the set rivet
body. The operator cannot change this process. The
operator needs only to pull the trigger of the setting tool
and the process of properly setting the blind rivet occurs.
The setting tools are portable and are hand powered,
pneumatic, pneumatic hydraulic or electric powered. The
mandrel is made of a harder material than the blind rivet
body and will permanently deform the rivet body on the
blind side of the fastened joint.
FIGURE 3
As Engineers and Designers move to more compact
lighter weight products with reduced metal thicknesses
and greater use of plastic, Engineers and Designers are
faced with different choices in selecting fasteners to
effectively secure components. Blind Rivets may be one
of their viable choices.
Here are some typical questions asked about
blind rivets:
[Q] Can blind rivets be used with painted metal
stock or where surface finish can not be damaged or
marked?
[A] Blind riveting does not require a turning motion
when contacting the painted surface. A screw or bolt
does turn when in contact with the painted surface.
[Q] Can the threat of cracking or tearing of plastic
parts be eliminated?
[A] Blind rivet can be designed to set softly on
plastic. The clamp forces of the blind rivet can be altered
by changing the tensile break load of the mandrel.
ANTHONY Di MAIO