In the fast lane
Alloy Wire International is ‘at the source’ of initial supply for hundreds of fastener manufacturers across the world… Angus Hogarth explains why the best things come in small packages.
Fasteners. Often a small part that is taken for granted, yet for many applications across the world of engineering and manufacturing they remain a critical conduit in making things work effectively.
Alloy Wire International (AWI), a leading manufacturer of round, flat and profile wire in High Performance nickel alloys, understands the importance of this vital industry both in the UK and across the rest of the world.
In fact, the company is now exporting 50% of its wire in coils and spools and straight length bars to over 40 countries and this figure is growing by the month.
“Fasteners perform in critically demanding places like aircraft engines, nuclear installations, valves and down oil wells, which are all environments where other wire sometimes fails to perform,” explained Angus Hogarth, Sales Director of AWI.
“This means that the material most suited to these applications are High Performance alloys, containing nickel and chromium with the addition of other elements, such as titanium, cobalt and aluminium.”
He continued: “Alloys like Nimonic 90, Inconel X-750 and Inconel 718 all provide good mechanical strength at high temperatures, whereas Hastelloy C276, Monel 400 and Alloy MP35N deliver excellent resistance to corrosion in liquids and gases that could potentially result in the premature failure of other materials.
“Other alloys offer different advantages, such as Nitronic 60 that is used for its anti-galling properties when screwing into fittings.”
Alloy Wire International provides over 60 different Exotic alloys that are all DFARS compliant or of EU origin and can be supplied from as small as .001” (0.025mm) to as large as .827 (21mm) in diameter.
The company continues to invest heavily in the latest custom made machinery at its two factories in the West Midlands and Yorkshire to ensure it can deliver wire within an industry-leading three-week timeframe.
In certain circumstances and especially relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic, AWI can also offer an Emergency Manufacturing Service (EMS) where wire can be processed in just three days.
Angus continued: “We are often ‘at the source’ of many projects, so can’t just supply material off the shelf – it’s just not that simple.
“There’s a whole host of additional services we offer to our customers from our technical and metallurgical team, who will talk through requirements, material applications and the conditions the end application will be used in. This is how we can solve manufacturing issues and offer performance improvements by providing them with the necessary information to make an informed decision on the right material.
“We also provide extensive wire testing, which can include heat treatment capability testing, grain size and macro examination, chemical analysis confirmation, wrap and torsion tests.”
He concluded: “It’s all designed to give our customers an edge over their competitors or the opportunity to be more productive in their own manufacturing processes.”
For further information, please follow @alloywire on Twitter and LinkedIn.
