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12 Page Company Overview

12 page brochure covering different aspects of ND Industries, Inc.
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Distributors Link Magazine Cover

Check out the ND Industries cover story in the spring issue of Distributors Link Magazine.

ND Company Spotlight – FTI

COMPANY HISTORY:

Founded by Richard B. Wallace in 1955, ND Industries started out as the Nylok®-Detroit Corporation. At that time the company offered only one processing application, nylon pellet inserts. Through a licensing and technical exchange program, information was shared with Nylok to enhance their products while Nylok-Detroit worked directly with automotive companies to build specs for their materials. These relationships were critical to establishing self-locking fasteners in the automotive industry.

Nylok-Detroit began a phase of expansion and product development which shifted the focus towards customer driven research and low cost processing. To free the company from licensing restrictions and move in a new direction, a name change was made to ND Industries, and Nylok’s partial ownership was bought out. Once it achieved its independence, ND Industries opened a cutting edge Technologies Group comprised of Design Engineering, Research and Development, and Chemical Blending Divisions, while expanding its network of fastener processing centers.

TODAY AND THE FUTURE:

ND Industries’ success in the automotive industry has allowed ND to become a self-locking fastener leader in markets such as electronics, aerospace, marine, military, construction and appliance. In early 2011, ND Technologies Group, ND’s Research, Development, and Laboratory Testing Facility, expanded by relocating to a newly acquired building in Troy, Michigan. The 7,600 square foot area, nearly double the former R & D footprint, provides more room for ND’s chemists and technicians to develop next-generation adhesives and sealants. In addition, ND’s Chemical Blending and Vibra-Tite Bottling Divisions continue to increase their annual
product output.

ND is the only company in the industry that controls every step of its manufacturing process. ND’s growth is supported by this vertical integration, which allows it to react quickly to customer needs, while maintaining low cost and high quality throughout the entire product pipeline.

ND ASIA:

ND Industries Taiwan and ND Electronics (Kunshan, China) Co., Ltd. have a collective team of over 200 employees and facilities covering more than 60,000 square feet in plant floor area. Unlike many of its competitors’ foreign operations, ND’s Asian facilities are wholly owned divisions. ND Industries’ Asian customers benefit from ND’s U.S. manufacturing experience and extensive connections with U.S. distributors.

VIBRA-TITE:

Vibra-Tite, ND’s bottled product division, provides quality adhesives, sealants, lubricants and more to customers around the globe. Vibra-Tite is now one of the world’s market leaders in the bottled product adhesive industry. Vibra-Tite’s low overhead and in-house
capabilities allow it to compete with top name brand products at a cost savings of up to 40%.

LOCATIONS:

Through innovation, continual reinvestment and the drive to better serve our customers, ND Industries has grown to become one of the largest self-locking fastener processors in the world. Our divisions span the USA, Asia, and Europe.

• Clawson, MI
• Troy, MI
• Oakland, NJ
• Charlotte, NC
• Northbrook, IL
• Rockford, IL
• Twinsburg, OH
•Arlington, TX
• Santa Fe, CA
• Blythe, CA
• Kunshan, China
• Kaohsiung, Taiwan
• Istanbul, Turkey

PRODUCTS:

From two base pre-applied products in 1965 to currently over 100, ND continues its research and development with the regular introduction of more advanced fastening and sealing technologies. ND currently owns 41 product and process patents in the U.S. and overseas.

Fastener Failure: What You Need to Know

There are three common attributes that all threaded fasteners share.

1. All threaded fasteners loosen.

Threaded fasteners are designed to be reversible. Often this is a desirable quality –particularly when service removability is a necessity – but fasteners can and do come loose on their own, which can cause serious, expensive, and sometimes dangerous problems. Loose fasteners on an assembly can lead to vibration, noise, and overall quality issues, and ultimately lead to fastener failure.

2. All threaded fasteners have the potential for locking failure.

Fasteners can fail due to vibration, shock, or any number of environmental factors that an assembled product is exposed to. Products with mechanical or moving elements, or those that come into contact with moisture or work under air and fluid pressures, are particularly susceptible. While we put our faith in fasteners as a highly integral part of any assembly, there are a few things that should be noted about fasteners and fastener failure:

• When friction drops in the threads of a seated fastener, or under the head, that fastener will start to loosen even if the bolt was properly tightened.
• Once side-sliding starts it takes less than 100 cycles of vibration to loosen a fastener.
• And it takes less torque to loosen a fastener than to tighten it.

As shown in this Laboratory Demonstration, ND Expand-A-Seal expands volumetrically 20-50%

3. All fastening points are potential leak paths.

Fastening points are the weak spots in any assembly. Leaks, particularly in assemblies that involve or must endure air or fluid pressures, can develop at fastening points using the helix of the threaded fastener like a canal. In the case of hydraulic assemblies, and other assemblies that require and utilize pressure, this can create a serious problem in the performance of the product over time.

Because of these common attributes of threaded fasteners, new and better developments in fastening technology are essential to the progress of modern industry. For over 50 years thread adhesives have been used to effectively fortify fastener reliability. Adhesives have been used to protect joints and guarantee that fastening components will not come apart even if a joint or fastener has been inadvertently loosened. Even when joints squeak and rattle, a clear indication of fastener failure, adhesives help keep joints and fasteners from separating and causing much more severe failures.

The use of fastener adhesives and coatings during assembly has become increasingly important to ensure the integrity and reliability of those assemblies, while also helping to reduce variation in clamploading and improve corrosion resistance and torque tension relationships. Furthermore, assemblers have found that the pre-application system ofutilizing fastener adhesives saves time and money on the assembly line, as pre-applied adhesives are typically less expensive than bottled adhesives and pre-application eliminates the unavoidable errors in the time-consuming process of on-line adhesive application. Pre-applied locking and sealing coatings are used regularly in many industries, including: automotive, electronics, aerospace, marine, construction, and appliance, to name just a few.

As pre-applied fastener adhesives have become more necessary in the efforts of manufacturers to meet modern assembly requirements, the micro-encapsulation of adhesive components in pre-application technology has become the method of choice as a fast, clean and effective way of utilizing chemical bonding during assembly. The premise of micro-encapsulation is that a 2 part adhesive, typically epoxy, acrylic or similar, is applied to the fastener in a pre-application process. But, unlike the result of bottled adhesive applications, the 2 components of the adhesive do not mix during the application of the adhesive to the fastener. Instead, the components are dry-fused to the fastener and kept separated by micro-encapsulation. That is, simply stated, one component is contained within tiny spheres, micro-caps or micro-spheres, and kept separated from the second activating component until assembly occurs. The dry-fusing of the components to the fastener ensures that the coated fastener remains dry to the touch and clean to handle, and that the micro-encapsulation technology will not activate even if handled roughly. When assembly does occur, the force of the fastener engagement breaks open the micro-caps and allows the adhesive to activate, creating a positive bond.

Most pre-applied, micro-encapsulated fastener coatings are designed to serve a single purpose, which is to lock a fastener in place, extremely well. With this understanding it is easy to see how many pre-applied micro-encapsulated adhesives, one of the most effective locking technologies available, may not provide the most effective air and fluid seal.

While all thread adhesives help to give some protection against leakage at fastening points by providing a kind of dam of adhesive material inside the fastener threads, adhesives intended only for locking and bonding are not designed to form a gasket that ensures sealing under air and fluid pressures. Even the most formidable bonds created by threadlockers leave miniscule spaces within the threads of a seated fastener, allowing for gas and fluid leakage. Gas and fluid leakage can become a particularly difficult problem at fastening points when subjected to pressure strained conditions, such as in compression tanks or air brakes. Often other methods of sealing are employed, mastics, form-in-place gaskets or other materials designed specifically to provide leakage protection, where a highly reliable seal is necessary.

But now, thanks to advancements in micro-encapsulation technology, a new 2 in 1 locking and sealing micro-encapsulated formula is available to assemblers, ND Expand-A-Seal ES0105®. This pre-applied, high-powered, microencapsulated thread-locking solution also provides an effective air and water tight seal even under the strain of gas and fluid pressure.

A product of ND Industries®, a global leader in fastening adhesive production and research, ND Expand-A-Seal ES0105 can be applied to interior or exterior threaded fasteners of all sizes. And, because it contains all of the components of the adhesive needed for activation, ND Expand-A-Seal only needs to be applied to either one of any two mating, threaded parts for effective sealing and locking.

With the implementation of ND Expand-A-Seal, concern about leakage and the use of multiple methods of locking and sealing on a single application becomes a thing of the past. When ND Expand-A-Seal’s chemical adhesive agent is activated it simultaneously expands volumetrically 20-50%, filling any gaps and voids within the fastener threads and creating a positive seal against air and most automotive fluids. ND Expand-A-Seal will even effectively fill gaps resulting from the use of oversized fastener threads or fastener deformation that occurs during welding. The seal created by this breakthrough technology will endure even under the force of air and fluid pressures, and has been successfully tested on straight threads under the strain of 115psi without compromise to its sealing capacity.

As with other micro-encapsulated coatings, ND Expand-A-Seal has low prevailing on torque, so assembles easily with common hand tools. However, the chemical reaction that takes place upon mechanical fastening is so rapid, and its strength so considerable even before fully cured, that exceptional breakaway torque values are achieved within as short a time as one hour after activation.

No heat curing is required for fasteners coated with ND Expand-A-Seal; full cure is achieved in 24 hours at room temperature.

As a locking agent, fully cured ND Expand-A-Seal creates a bond comparable in strength to most epoxy threadlockers.

The cross-linked molecular structure of ND Expand-A-Seal makes it one of the most resistant types of fastener adhesive available. Fully cured, ND Expand-A-Seal’s sealing and locking power is unaffected by exposure to foreign substances, including: oil, gasoline, salt-spray, acids, solvents, water and more.

ND Expand-A-Seal can be used to seal and lock almost any critical application where shock, vibration and fluid or air pressure could cause a fastener to loosen or a joint to leak and is ideal for applications where fittings must stay securely locked while under constant stress. Typical applications of this technology include: drain cocks, engine pipe plugs, air filtering connectors, compressor fittings, cooling connectors and much more.

Expand-A-Lock – Two-in-One Advancement

ND Industries has been, and continues to be, a leader in the field of Pre-Applied fastening technology, bringing you powerful locking products like Epoxy-Lock and ND Microspheres® and advanced sealing products like ND Mastics® and ND Expandables®. Now ND is pleased to present the latest breakthrough in microencapsulated locking and sealing technology: Expand-A-Lock.

Most Pre-Applied fastener coatings are designed to serve a single purpose extremely well. ND Epoxy-Lock, for example, is unsurpassed with regards to its locking ability, while ND Expandables provide an excellent seal against air and liquid leakage at a fastening point. With this understanding it is easy to see how the most effective locking technology may not provide the most effective seal, while the most effective sealing technology may not improve a fastener’s locking power.
There is a solution. ND’s research and technology experts, working from the basis of the superior locking and sealing products, have developed the ultimate locking and sealing fastener coating – Expand-A-Lock ES0105, a totally unique, Pre-Applied, high powered epoxy thread-locking solution that also provides a total air and water tight seal even under extremely high pressures.

Like ND Microspheres, Expand-A-Lock is a microencapsulated product. Through the microencapsulation process, epoxy type hardener and resin is contained within and kept separate by microscopic spheres. These spheres are then applied to the threads of a fastener in the form of a powder. ND’s microencapsulation technology allows Expand-A-Lock to remain inert until mated into its corresponding part. One immediate advantage of microencapsulization is that no special handling of the coated fasteners is required. Even rough handling will not activate Expand-A-Lock. When the coated fastener is mated the microscopic spheres burst open, activating the locking power of the adhesive agents. Expand-A-Lock can be applied to interior or exterior threaded fasteners of all sizes. And, because it contains both of the components of the adhesive needed for activation, Expand-A-Lock only needs to be applied to either one of any two mating, threaded parts for effective sealing and locking.

Expand-A-Lock has low prevailing on torque, so assembles easily with common hand tools. However, the chemical reaction that takes place upon mechanical fastening is so rapid, and its strength so considerable, even before fully cured, that exceptional breakaway torque values are achieved within as short a time as one hour. No heat curing is required for fasteners coated with Expand-A-Lock. Full cure is achieved in 24 hours at room temperature. As a locking agent, fully cured Expand-A-Lock creates a bond comparable in strength to most epoxy threadlockers.

Expand-A-Lock ES0105 exhibits phenomenal sealing action. Though some threadlockers have limited sealing capabilities, even the most formidable bonds created by threadlockers leave miniscule spaces within the threads of a seated fastener, allowing for gas and fluid leakage. Gas and fluid leakage can become a particularly difficult problem at fastening points when subjected to high pressure conditions, such as in compression tanks or air brakes. With the implementation of Expand-A-Lock, concern about leakage becomes a thing of the past. When Expand-A-Lock’s chemical locking agent is activated it simultaneously expands volumetrically 20-50% filling any gaps and voids within the fastener threads and creating a positive seal against air and most automotive fluids. Expand-A-Lock will even effectively fill gaps resulting from the use of oversized fastener threads or fastener deformation that occurs during welding. The seal created will endure even under the most extreme pressures. Expand-A-Seal has been successfully tested under the strain of 10,000 psi without compromise to its sealing capacity.

The cross-linked molecular structure of Expand-A-Lock makes it one of the most resistant types of fastener adhesive available. Fully cured, Expand-A-Lock’s locking and sealing power is unaffected by exposure to foreign substances, including: oil, gasoline, salt-spray, acids, solvents, water and more.

ND’s pre-applied process ensures that Expand-A-Lock is more cost effective and less hassle than bottled threadlockers applied at the point of assembly. Since Expand-A-Lock coated fasteners remain inactive until assembled, their shelf-life is practically indefinite.

Expand-A-Lock can be used to lock and seal almost any critical application where shock, vibration and fluid or air pressure could cause a fastener to loosen or a joint to leak. Typical applications include: engine pipe plugs, air filtering connectors, compressor fittings, cooling connectors and much more.