Bolts and fasteners might be small, but their failure can cause big problems. In some critical industries — including processing, mining, and energy — joint failure is considered a major safety issue and keeping up with replacements is costly. Work shutdowns required for changeout can cost several thousand dollars at a time and add up to millions over the course of a year.

Some businesses have gotten used to replacing more than a dozen broken bolts each day but it doesn’t have to be this way. Maxbolt Load Indicating Fasteners, a patented product of Valley Forge & Bolt Mfg. Co., can revolutionize how a company looks at fasteners by reducing downtime, premature wear, and catastrophic joint failures. How can a simple bolt be so effective?

For starters, Maxbolt is far from simple. There is an extremely accurate and durable load-monitoring device inserted into each fastener. At a glance, technicians will know when proper load is achieved. During operation, technicians will know if load ever falls out of spec on any bolt, addressing the need immediately instead of waiting for critical equipment failure.

Now, even inexperienced operators can assemble complex bolted joints with uniform clamp loads within +/-5% of design specification. With Maxbolts, measurements are based on tension, the inaccuracies of torque control are eliminated, ensuring optimum initial conditions before an assembly is placed into service.

Once in service:

• Maxbolts provide monitoring to warn users of initial relaxation and any subsequent loosening during operation, with just a quick glance required to confirm clamp load status.
• Custom Maxbolt labels can show desired operating ranges using a green zone or pinpoint precise clamp load values.
• The Maxbolt Load Indicating System provides the ultimate safety and reliability in a bolted joint, acting as a constant barometer of the integrity of the bolted joint and providing an added degree of safety.

There are only two technologies for industry to choose in order to meet ASTM F-2482, the standard for load-indicating externally threaded fasteners, while maintaining values to within +/-5% accuracy, Maxbolt and a second technology, SPC4. Unlike Maxbolt, for which a reader is integral to the bolt, fasteners with SPC4 allow technicians to verify load by attaching a probe to a datum disc usually located on the head of the fastener and reading the load value. Valley Forge & Bolt manufactures both the Maxbolt and SPC4.

Valley Forge & Bolt
 www.vfbolts.com