Threaded fasteners have been essential to human civilization since the Paleolithic Period. Early humans used wooden screws to ignite fires for warmth and cooking. Indigenous tribes in North America later found rock drills and screws useful for various manufacturing tasks.
With the advent of the industrial age, nuts and bolts became vital for both green and fossil-fuel energy sectors. A single wind turbine, for example, utilizes thousands of bolts in its foundation, nacelle, tower, gear box, blades, and hub. Similarly, refineries require hundreds of thousands of nuts and studs to secure high-pressure vessels and catalytic crackers, with additional components like hydrocrackers and delayed cokers needing even more.
Our daily lives heavily rely on these fasteners, which are usually readily available across the USA. However, sourcing custom threads like Acme, metric, Williams, and coarse threads can be challenging and time-consuming.
The machinists at Titan frequently remind me of the complexity involved in thread manufacturing. Precise measurements are crucial: Is the original bolt within 1/1000 inch? Is the nut within 2/1000 inch? Do we have an accurate thread gauge? If not, can we create one that meets the current specifications? Should we measure the new stud “under wires”? Why is a sample tapered or mis-manufactured, requiring re-tooling? Despite these challenges, Titan’s team excels at delivering seemingly impossible tasks. To date, we’ve achieved a 100% success rate in delivering rods, shafts, nuts, and stud-repair sleeves (knocking on wood for continued success!).
When clients urgently need bolts, I initially seek quotes from standard vendors. If their prices are exorbitant, I turn to our in-house machine crew, often finding our custom bolts cost half as much as those from common vendors.
Our products include coarse thread rods, fine thread nuts for boiler feed pump turbines, Acme nuts, metric threads, unique UN pitches, Williams threads, and threaded structural rods. Additionally, we offer tools for connecting, torquing, and tensioning these products, including bolt tensioners and hydraulic wrenches, available for rental, purchase, calibration, and repair. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information!
