Increasing the strength of a threaded connector.
The holes in the overlapping surfaces are tapped with a 5/16-24 UNC thread. During customer assembly, when the screw was installed in the connector, the two overlapping surfaces separated. Initially the cause was thought to be inadequate heat treat. Through extensive testing this cause was ruled out. How could the separation issue be solved?
wm dudek mfg proposed adding a dovetail feature to the part which tied the two overlapping surfaces together.
Upon investigation of the customer’s assembly process we determined that the customer had changed the process and was now using new, high torque screw drivers to speed assembly. The speed at which the screw was driven was causing the surfaces to separate.
A connector with superior strength that could be assembled at a faster rate decreasing the unit’s cost.
