Bolted joints are one of the weakest places in many structures and not surprisingly one of the largest single causes of failure, expensive warranty claims, safety, production down time and has caused fatalities. It is the point where assemblies variously leak, wear, slip or tear apart when subject to sustained external forces. But thanks to a recent innovation by Chartered Engineer Mr. Stan Ceney (Technical Research & Development Manager of Clarkwood Engineering Limited ) the development of ‘TenCon’ – a tension indicating washer that allows joint tension control in fasteners - such problems could become a thing of the past. The new tension indicating washer is seen as a major worldwide contribution in overcoming problems and meeting industry’s call for a cost effective simple means of monitoring bolt stress, improving safety in critical structures and preventing environomental catastrophic problems.
Stan has been involved in tensioning control of bolted joints for more than 40 years and during his career has won awards for innovations that have subsequently been developed into products in Europe and America. With a desire for his latest innovation to be developed in the UK, Stan joined Clarkwood as a company with the skills, heritage and experience to bring the tension controlled washer into manufacture. With success for Clarkwood Engineering Ltd in winning the “Manufacturng Champion” category in the Wolverhampton Express & Star Business Awards 2012, hopes are now high for ‘TenCon’ which has been has been awarded a finalist place in the ‘Make it in Great Britain’ exhibition and is among four finalists in the Stronger category (Best Innovation). This is currently staged at the London Science Museum from 24th July to 9th September and is billed to showcase some of the most exciting British manufacturing developments and explore the positive impact they have on our lives. The exhibition will also include winners of a Challenge to find British manufacturing’s most promising innovative and cutting edge products and processes.
No comments:
Post a Comment