PROFIL’S SZB ‘CHRISTMAS TREE’ STUD PROVIDES COST, QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY ADVANTAGES OVER TRADITIONAL WELDED ANCHORS

20^th January 2010: Pierce fastening and assembly specialist Profil (UK) Ltd has launched the SZB stud, a fast and secure anchor post for plastic or metal clips used to secure trim, insulation, hydraulic pipework or electrical wiring runs to sheet metal components.

Ideal for automotive industry, electrical equipment or domestic appliance use, the new fastener features an asymmetric buttress (Christmas tree) style thread that provides simple push-on, screw-off location for the secondary fasteners. 

With an industry-standard 5 mm core diameter and installed height of 15 mm, the new anchor stud is dimensionally equivalent to standard welded fasteners. In common with other Profil products, it can be inserted automatically in pressed components as part of their production process at rates of more than 100 fasteners per minute. In addition, the SZB stud can be installed in low volume and prototyping applications using a simple C frame press.

SZB studs will self pierce up to 1.5 mm DC03 / DC04 grade steel and can be mounted in pre-pierced materials up to 3.0 mm thick. Unlike welded alternatives, the new anchors are equally suitable for use with coated or uncoated materials, including high tensile, stainless and sandwich steels, aluminium sections and magnesium castings. They also provide assured clip orientation and location, as well as an absolute positional accuracy of +0.2 mm.

“The SZB is the latest addition to our range of special purpose sheet metal fixings, which includes electrical earthing nuts and studs, ball pin fasteners, flush fitting and large flange high strength anchors used in safety critical applications,” says Profil UK’s sales manager, Adrian Ellis. “They all provide vibration and watertight fixings, backed by inherent piece part and installation speed advantages. Furthermore, the assured accuracy and consistent placement of our products make them ideal for robot or ‘machine vision’ based automated assembly methods; and the use of only semi-skilled labour and visual inspection methods in most cases.”