PROFILE
IN THE
FAST LANE
F asteners. 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 continues: “Alloys like
Nimonic 90, Inconel X-750
and Inconel 718 all provide
good mechanical strength at
high temperatures, whereas
Alloy Wire International is ‘at the source’
of initial supply for hundreds of fastener
manufacturers across the world. This article looks
at why the best things come in small packages.
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 antigalling
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
bespoke 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 concludes: “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.”
SUPPORTING THE NHS
Alloy Wire International
has been commissioned
to produce more than 5
kilometres of material that
will be used to produce
22 Issue 2 2020