FAQs
All licensees receive complete training in all MAThread® methodologies. Our training starts with determination of which of our designs to employ based upon the customer drawing and/or knowledge of the joint to be assembled. We explain with detailed instructions how to properly design the blank and finished part drawings. We discuss what is critical during production of the blank and threaded part, and of course we cover how to measure and qualify all MAThread® products. Our training materials also include a very popular section concerning detailed digital photos of typical rejects the supplier may find.
During 2006 and 2007 our training programs covered well over 50 fastener manufacturing companies in 15 countries in 5 continents, and included over 1,200 personnel.
Bring us your tired and weak assemblies! We are frequently asked to diagnose assembled joint failures and recommend corrective measures. Our expertise in eliminating assembly problems is recognized all over the world.
We review proposed drawings and standards prior to release in order to make sure all of our methodologies are properly represented.
MAThread’s technologies have been recognized via worldwide standards for anti-cross threading fasteners, including General Motors, Chrysler and Mercedes Benz.
MAThread® parts have traditionally been cold-headed and thread-rolled; however more recently our thread technology has been successfully produced by many companies in the metals machining industry, using wide range of processes. If it produces thread, it can probably make a MAThread®.
MAThread® and MATpoint® products are currently being manufactured in sizes ranging from M3 to M28. There are, however, no size restrictions for the design. Also, the type of fastener head is irrelevant to their manufacture, as well as the material, and/or surface coating. If you can design it, we’ll help you put a MAThread® on it.
In production trials at a Detroit auto company, the elimination of torque “spikes” early in the fastener run-down” made torque monitoring and torque/angle control much more consistent.
Recent developments in MAThread® manufacturing processes have eliminated most of the historic production cost difference, leaving a small royalty cost as the basic difference. Some standard parts, such as the standard “NP” part (used commonly by Ford) are usually actually more expensive than the equivalent length MATpoint®.
Every production study ever done (there have been many) demonstrated significant net cost savings through use of MAThread®. In many cases, the documented savings actually exceeded the total piece cost of the fasteners involved. This is due to the fact that every standard, non-MAThread, fastener experiences some percentage of “jamming” during assembly. Each time one of these failures occur, the cost of scrap, re-work, and down-time, jumps. If even a few failures happen, the resulting costs greatly exceed the actual fastener piece cost. Worse yet, it is almost impossible to repair such a failure without degrading the integrity of the threaded joint. This fact often leads to unnecessary field failure, rattles, and ultimately, warranty cost. All of these costs are very large when compared to the fastener cost; all of them are completely avoidable with MAThread® products.
We invite anyone to MAThread’s Wixom facility to test certified bolts and nuts for themselves. In such a test, we guarantee MAThread will not jam at any angle of insertion, even if the visitor tests thousands of parts. We don’t do this test in plants anymore, because sometimes line supervisors object to workers deliberately trying to fail parts
MAThread® eliminates all seizing and jamming of fasteners from the most common problems, period. This usually results in an immediate end to ongoing assembly issues. This result has been demonstrated in the most difficult, highest volume automotive assembly operations, where thousands of serious, costly problems have just disappeared after MAThread® was introduced. In addition to solving almost all problems, MAThread® makes resolving the rare few remaining problems much, much easier. For example, when MAThread® is not used, the assembly plant experiencing a problem must sort through a myriad of possible causes before resolving it. This process is usually difficult and tedious. With MAThread®, however, should a nut-thread quality issue occur, or dirt or obstruction in the thread cause a jamming failure, the assembly plant can immediately rule out cross-threading, false-threading, and/or paint problems as possible causes of the problem. That makes it much easier to focus on the real issue, which is no longer disguised by other possible failures. Such a quality problem is usually quickly solvable once it’s identified.
Cars, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, computers, printers, furniture, construction, heavy duty engines, earthmoving equipment, and many other places…….
With MAThread®, installers feel almost no feedback during early fastener run-down, which often results in comments such as “this just slides in” or “boy, is this smooth”. This is because the lead threads of every MAThread® product are very similar to a ball bearing in shape. They, therefore tend to act in a way that is very much like a bearing so, the initial interaction of these threads with any mating thread does not result in a large amount of frictional load being fed back into the installer’s hands. This is not the case with Standard threads, where installers actually feel the interaction of the “sharp” standard threads with a mating thread. When an operator installs thousands of fasteners per shift, this ergonomic improvement is a very significant benefit.
Fastener “jamming” is the seizing of the internal and external fastener threads during fastener assembly, resulting in severely damaged threads. All such jamming is commonly referred to as “cross-threading”, but in reality, such jamming actually results from several completely different types of failures. MAThread® and MATpoint® prevent the most common of these failures (cross-threading, false threading, and paint interference) because they actively force themselves into alignment with the internal thread – before any of the interference conditions that lead to jamming can occur.
MAThread® and MATpoint® improve all threaded fastener assembly in several ways: 1) they prevent virtually all fasteners from “jamming” or “cross-threading” during installation. 2) they actively align every fastener and it’s mating parts during assembly, and 3) they improve ergonomics and “ease” of assembly by reducing the torque feedback to the installer’s hands during installation.
MAThread® and MATpoint® are patented thread designs, which may be utilized on any externally threaded screw, bolt, or other threaded product. Currently they are found on more than three thousand different fasteners throughout high-volume manufacturing plants worldwide. Over 2.5 billion will be installed this year alone.