Engineering
Take the joint apart before redesigning it
A teardown establishes what the joint actually is — geometry, material, finish, cost — before anyone proposes what it should become.
Why a teardown
The cheapest part is usually the one that should not be there
Most fastener cost is not in the fastener. It is in the number of them, the number of variants, the operations needed to install them and the inventory needed to hold them. A teardown is how that becomes visible.
The output is a report, not a product. It records what was measured, where the cost sits and which changes are worth making — including the ones that do not involve changing the screw at all.
Method
Two ways to take it apart, one report
Joint disassembly preserves the interaction; independent disassembly separates the causes. Most studies use both, in that order.
01
Joint disassembly
The joint is taken apart as an assembly, so the interaction between fastener, insert and clamped parts is preserved. This is the method that shows why a joint behaves the way it does, rather than only what it is made of.
02
Independent disassembly
Each component is examined on its own — thread, head, coating, material. This separates a fastener problem from a joint problem, which is usually the first question to settle.
03
Written report
Both methods produce a report: what was found, what the geometry and material are, where the cost sits, and what could change. A finding without a report is an opinion.
Optimisation
Four approaches, in order of how often they work
Standardisation first, because it costs the least to implement. New connection types last, because they change the design.
01
Drive slot standardisation
A product family often accumulates drives for historical reasons. Reducing the number of drives reduces tool changes, bit inventory and the chance of using the wrong bit on the line.
02
Multi-functional substitution
One part that performs two functions removes a part, a stock item and an assembly step. A formed flange replacing a separate washer is the simplest example; a screw with an integrated sealing element is the same idea applied to sealing.
03
New connection alternatives
Sometimes the fastener is not the right connection at all. A clinching nut, a rivet nut or an adhesive bond may remove a thread that was never necessary in the first place.
04
Part consolidation
Where several fasteners are doing the work of one, or where a bracket exists only to hold a screw, the assembly — not the screw — is the place to look.
Send a sample assembly
A complete joint — screw, insert, and the parts being clamped — is enough to start. The report follows the physical part, not a questionnaire.