Standard Parts We Make
The catalog carries 7 standard threaded insert products, built to these designations. A special part is normally a variation on one of them rather than a blank sheet — which is what keeps the tooling cost down:
- DIN 8140
Standard parts in this family
What can be changed on a threaded insert
- Dimensions — lengths, diameters and head sizes outside the standard table.
- Thread — fine pitches, left-hand threads, partial threading, non-standard thread lengths.
- Material — grades the catalog part is not stocked in, up to and including the customer's own specified steel.
- Strength class — a higher property class than the standard part, where the material and heat treatment allow it.
- Finish — plating, passivation or coating to a salt-spray requirement rather than to a default.
- Head and drive — a drive that is not in the standard, or a head form specific to the assembly.
- Marking — part numbers, logos or traceability codes on the head.
Materials this family is supplied in
The grades the catalog already describes for these parts. Anything outside this list is quoted against the drawing.
- A2 Stainless Steel
- A4 Stainless Steel
How a custom threaded insert is made
Which of these applies depends on the drawing and on the quantity. Volume is what usually decides it: forming needs tooling and pays it back over a run, machining needs none and does not.
Tapping
Cutting or forming an internal thread in a drilled hole.
Knurling
Rolling a pattern into a surface to make it grip — either a hand or an anchoring surface.
Order terms
- Minimum order
- 2,000–5,000 pieces. The exact figure depends on the part: it is set by the tooling the drawing calls for, and is confirmed when the drawing has been reviewed.
- Samples
- Within 7 days of drawing approval.
- Drawing
- Preferred, but not required — a sample, photographs or a sketch is enough to start.
What a quotation needs
Nine things, and a drawing settles most of them at once. Where a field is unknown, say so — an assumption stated is better than a blank, and several of these can be recommended rather than specified.
- Drawing
- A 2D drawing (PDF or DWG) or a 3D model settles almost every other question on this list at once.
- Dimensions
- Diameter, length, head size and any features — enough to know what is being made.
- Tolerance
- Tolerance is the single biggest cost driver. Tell us which dimensions are critical and which are not — holding everything tight costs money on features nobody measures.
- Material
- Carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless, brass, aluminium, titanium — or the application, and we will suggest one.
- Strength grade
- Property class to ISO 898-1 (8.8, 10.9, 12.9) or stainless class to ISO 3506 (A2-70, A4-80). This decides the material and the heat treatment together.
- Thread standard
- Metric coarse, metric fine, UNC, UNF, BSW or a pipe thread — and the tolerance class if it is specified.
- Surface finish
- Zinc, hot-dip galvanised, black oxide, Dacromet, Geomet, nickel, passivation, or plain. Salt-spray hours if you have a requirement.
- Quantity
- Annual volume and first-order quantity. Volume changes which process is the right one, so it changes the price more than most buyers expect.
- Application & environment
- What the part holds together, and what it has to survive — temperature, vibration, chemicals, salt. This is what lets us catch a specification that will not work before it is made.
No drawing?
Most replacement parts arrive without one. None of these routes is a problem, and all of them end with a drawing produced for your approval before anything is cut or formed.
- A physical sample
- The most reliable route. The part is measured, the thread and finish identified, and a drawing produced for your approval before anything is made.
- Photographs with a scale
- Photographs against a ruler or a caliper, ideally with a thread pitch gauge reading. Enough to identify a standard part or to start a drawing for a non-standard one.
- A hand sketch
- A sketch with the dimensions that matter is a perfectly good starting point — the drawing gets made from it and comes back to you to check.
- The assembly it goes into
- Sometimes the fastener is wrong in the first place. If the joint is described rather than the part, a better part can be proposed.
Questions
What is the minimum order quantity for a custom part?
Between 2,000 and 5,000 pieces for most parts. The exact figure depends on the part: it is set by the tooling the drawing calls for, and is confirmed when the drawing has been reviewed.
How long does a sample take?
Within 7 days once the drawing has been approved. The drawing stage comes first, and for a part being reverse-engineered from a sample it is where most of the time goes.
Can you make a part without a drawing?
Yes. A physical sample, photographs against a scale, or a dimensioned sketch are all workable starting points. A drawing is produced from whichever of those you have and sent back for approval before anything is made.
Which threaded insert standards do you already work to?
The catalog carries parts built to DIN 8140, among others. A special part is usually a variation on one of these rather than a new design.
How is a custom threaded insert manufactured?
Depending on the drawing and the volume: tapping, knurling. Forming processes need tooling and repay it over a run; machining needs none, so it is the usual route for a first article or a short run.
Send the part
A drawing answers most of this at once. If you do not have one, fill in what you know and attach a photograph — samples follow within 7 days of the drawing being approved.