The carbonitriding of fasteners is of critical importance to their functionality and one of the most common case-hardening heat treatments. Studying how the process works in this application will shed a great deal of light on all carbonitriding processes.

OSR Inc., a manufacturer of automotive fasteners, plans to increase its manufacturing production in Columbus, Ind. The company, a joint venture between Japan’s Owari Precise Products Co. and Columbus-based Rightway Fasteners Inc., will invest $7 million to construct and equip a new 82,395-square-foot manufacturing facility. OSR plans to add up to 12 new positions and is hiring immediately for positions in heat treatment and IT. Production is scheduled to increase at the beginning of 2020. OSR, which currently has 29 employees, specializes in M4 to M9 cold-forged fasteners, primarily for Toyota.

The effect of hydrogen on aluminum alloys can manifest itself in a phenomenon known as high-temperature oxidation (HTO), also known as high-temperature deterioration (HTD). A case study involving 2024 and 7075 aluminum aerospace fasteners in which hydrogen-induced damage was found after solution heat-treatment and aging operations serves as an excellent example.

Cooper & Turner (C&T), the U.K.'s largest producer of hot- and cold-forged bolts, was acquired by Watermill Group (WG) of Lexington, Mass., a private investment firm.

Metal-forming simulations are used to develop unique processing techniques by eliminating the high number of laboratory tests required in such research, but they are also used extensively for the predictive detection of possible material failures, forging force detection, proper die design and topology optimization in the industry.