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Global Views on Hardware Headlines August 6, 2008

Posted by champion in : Hardware , add a comment

Fastener Industry Up 5% Per Year Through 2007

Industrial fastener demand, usually dancing with the pace of industrialization and business circle of the world, is predicted to climb no less than 5% every year through 2007 to over $11 billion. Generally speaking, the demand will be spurred by robust growth in durable goods production and building spending. Accelerating global economic growth will also contribute to help speed in aftermarket fastener demand, even though improvements in fastener quality will somewhat curb maintenance/ repair /operations sales growth. Building sector, electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing will enjoy the fastest growth in end-use markets for fasteners.
Standardized industrial fasteners will continue to govern overall product demand. However the sales of application-specific fasteners jump at a prompter pace than other standardized product types while more OEMs take the place of non-specialized items with application-specific designs. In the other hand, demand for aerospace-grade fasteners is predicted to soar at better-than-expected rate through 2007, fueled by new momentum in aircraft production as global economic climate bodes well military expenditures keep climbing. Recently, innovations and improvement on fastener design focus on new generations of self-locking and self-sealing fasteners, which can be installed without the use of tools and fasteners fabricated from advanced alloys, composites and plastic materials. As more reinforced plastics are successfully developed and launched, plastic fasteners will be widely applied in a growing number of settings.

Global Valve Demands to Rise 5.5% Through 2007

Global demand for industrial valves is predicted to climb 5.5% per year through 2007 to over US$60 billion. The growth momentum is specially attributed to the blooming macroeconomic growth in the developing regions of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The markets in the US, Japan and Western Europe, although not very prominent in performing, will also show slight improvement. Rising fixed investment levels will boost most valve consuming sectors and strengthen underdeveloped infrastructures in these regions.

Die-casting Hardware Boosted from Auto Sector

Die-casting is a process to form metal shapes from molten material, in most cases, typically nonferrous metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and zinc. Die-casting processes include sand casting, precision investment (lost wax) casting, and permanent mold casting. Generally speaking, the major market for die-casting is the automotive industry. Especially smaller electric motors calling for the application of die cast aluminum housings and end covers, further promote the usage of die-castings. Additionally, for further development of the die casting industry, production scale is of prime importance for industry players. However, the prerequisite for a large production size is large investment. The automotive industry is surely a strong support. In recent years, attention has been paid to the development of large capacity die casting machines, bringing up hot chamber machines accordingly.

Variety Uses of P/M, Powder Metallurgy

The basic P/M process uses pressure and heat to form precision metal parts and shapes. Powder is squeezed at room temperature by itself in a rigid precision die into an engineered shape like a gear. After the mass of powder is squeezed into a shape and ejected from the press, it is fed slowly through a special high-temperature controlled atmosphere furnace to bond the particles together. In contrast to other metal forming techniques, P/M parts are shaped directly from powders while castings are formed from metal that must be melted, and wrought parts are shaped by deformation of hot or cold metal, or by machining. P/M parts are used in a variety of end products such as lock hardware, garden tractors, snowmobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, auto brake and steering systems, etc. New Developments include improved manufacturing processes and commercialization such as metal injection molding: (MIM), rapid solidification, P/M forging, spray forming, high temperature vacuum sintering, warm compacting and both cold and hot isostatic pressing. The use of P/M hot forged connecting rods in automobiles and a P/M camshaft for automobile engines. The use of P/M composite camshafts in auto engines and main bearing caps, and stainless steel ABS sensor rings and exhaust system flanges. New submicron and nanophase powders for cutting tools and other specialized applications.

Bearings, Small Parts Big Use

Bearings belong to a major component in a machine to reduce friction and, simultaneously maintain the expected precision and stability while machine working. By statistics, the size of global bearing market approximates US$30 billion every year. Coming in over ten thousand kinds, bearings can be found everywhere in a gear from small drivers, motor cars, conveyors, electrical machinery to big ships. Fundamentally, bearings are composed of two parts: sliding bearings and rolling bearings. The most frequent-used bearings are linear bearings, connecting bearings, ball bearings, roller bearings, trust bearings and needle bearings. The precision quality of bearings depends on hardness, wear rate, mechanic strength and stability along with concentricity, sphericalness and roughness. In these years, the users of conventional ball bearings and roller bearings have been gradually upgraded to ball guide bars, linear bearings, connecting bearings and oil-less bushings. Some higher-level bearings should resort to the help of technicians. King-size bearings for steel-making or petrochemical industry are heavily installed and traced by technical suppliers. The popularity of NC/ CNC machine tools and automated warehouse systems provides a stable-growing background for bearings industry. The up-and-coming trends follow the advantages of high precision, high speed, compact size, lightweight, maintenance-free and durability.

Article from ttnet.net

Hardware Industry in Global Economic View January 31, 2008

Posted by wenbi in : Hardware , add a comment

In the recent months, people are watchful to what happens to the U.S. housing market, which is hammered by a downturn in sales and prices owing to the meltdown of sub-prime mortgages. Soaring energy prices, declining home values that make American people feel less wealthy, and a gloomy outlook for the US labor market all figure into more caution on the part of consumers. Economists are warning that the oncoming US economic slowdown will possibly bring a domino effect on the export growing momentum from China, Europe and Japan and other developing countries, hold back years of robust growth in these countries and also terminate the boom in commodity prices that benefited them over the past years. By this, it is expected that the troubled U.S. economy will finally deepen fears of a global recession in 2008. 

 

Locking Systems

Security system is crucial to home safety. According to a survey conducted by Practical World Cologne, the top-2 items for effective burglary prevention are key cylinder in their home’s front and back doors, lockable windows and balcony doors. It is also important to the use of a security service and the installation of steel doors. Innovative lock cylinders make break-ins tougher than ever, by higher tamper-proof resistance with profile cylinder series incorporating an internal key stop. A brand-new electronic door-lock system is designed to reduce the risk of the “electro picking” which burglars use to open mechanical profile cylinders. The system also makes locking up easier and more convenient from inside and outside by the use of the rotary grip.

 

Pipes & Fittings

Strong growth in utilities construction will fuel pipe and valve demands. Global demand for plastic pipes is predicted to grow more than 4% annually, topping 6.3 billion meters. Pipes are the heart of household plumbing system. Steel pipe is used basically for carrying water, steam or gas in both black and galvanized finish. Galvanized pipes are usually used for water systems as black pipes for natural gas. Plastic pipes are popular among do-it-yourselfers since they are easy to work with, lightweight and durable. One of the major benefits of plastic pipes is that it will not rot or corrode. Couplings are used to connect all standard sizes of pipes. Bushings are inserted inside a coupling to reduce the size of the pipe. Elbow is used to change direction of pipe.

 

Industrial Valves

Demand for industrial valves is forecasted to rise 3.2% annually through 2011 to $16.3 billion. Steel and steel alloys will keep dominating as major valve construction materials due to their good performance in high temperature and high stress applications. Gate valves have a sliding wedge that is moved across the waterway, usually by a threaded spindle or stem. Globe and angle valves are used while a valve must be opened and closed frequently under high water pressure. Globe valves are used to control volume of flow. Similar to a globe valve, an angle valve has its ports at right angles and is installed at a turn in piping to reduce the necessity of an elbow. Check valves allow flow in one direction only and are used to prevent water pumped to an overhead tank from flowing back when the pump stops.

 

Bearings

Bearings are primarily applied to ease friction between moving parts or to carry load in certain industries such as those that handle materials. They are largely used in automobile industry, followed by general engineering, electrical industries, heavy industry and railways industry. The average bearing lifespan has largely prolonged thanks to the use of improved product designs, superior quality materials such as cleaner, stronger steels and better lubricants. Ball, roller and plain bearing demands are expected to grow 3.2% per year through 2011 to $11.0 billion. An upturn in nonresidential investment expenditures will help boost demand for bearings used in both original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and maintenance/repair/operations (MRO) applications.

 

Industrial Fasteners

Industrial fasteners are primarily used in automobile, aerospace, electric appliance, electrical and electronics industries. In the U.S., auto industry consumes about 42% of the industrial fasteners. The consumption of industrial fasteners is also related to the construction of commercial buildings and infrastructure. Spurred by healthy growth in nonresidential construction and aerospace equipment, US demand for industrial fasteners is expected to reach $12.9 billion in 2011. The demand for application-specific standard fasteners will continue to grow at a quicker pace than other standard fastener types, as more original equipment manufacturers replace commodity items with specialized designs. China demand for industrial fasteners is projected increase 9.4% annually through 2010 to RMB 40.2 billion, outpacing growth in most other regions of the world, driven by fast growth in industrial machinery, automobiles and electrical and electronic products.

To fastener manufacturers, raw material cost accounts for a large proportion of overall manufacturing costs. In the recent years, we’re witnessing a sustaining upswing on the carbon steel, alloy steel, along with alloying elements including aluminum, titanium, nickel, copper and the cost of most forms of energy used in the manufacturing process. This will impose a heavy pressure on most of industrial players.

The 62th National Hardware Show October 31, 2007

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Date: 5/08 ~ 05/10, 2007
Venue: Orange County Convention Center ,Orlando, U.S.A.
Organizer: REED Group
ttnet.net Booth: S21780
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The data is provided by the Organizer

Hardware & Building Materials October 29, 2007

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Build your profits and develop new business

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Colorful catalogs filled with information on the suppliers and products offered, help you identify business opportunities and expand your business.

 

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Product’s country/area of origin: Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand.
   
PRODUCTS PROFILE:
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Molds & Dies
Screws, Gaskets
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FREE copy of this essential sourcing guide is reserved for ttnet.net registered buyer members who are looking for relevant products and suppliers.
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Fastener Industry Holds the World Together October 18, 2007

Posted by wenbi in : Hardware , add a comment

ttnet.net - [2007/01/03]

Fastener demands are subject to the boom-bust cycle of global economic climate. Generally speaking, more industrialized, more fasteners needed. The demands will rise with increases in construction activity and manufacturing output, particularly in production of motor vehicles, aircrafts, electrical/electronics, appliances, furniture/office equipments and other equipment in which fasteners are essential components. Industrial fasteners are generally classified as standards, specials, or proprietary designs, in members fundamentally of bolts, screws, socket screws, cap screws, studs, nuts, washers, blind rivets, pins, inserts, tapping screws, machine screws, set screws, SEMS, and rivets and special industrial fasteners. Non-threaded standard fasteners continue to outsell other types in fastener family spurred by growth in global construction expenditures and backed by stepped-up spending for aircraft and military equipment in many areas. Nevertheless, the sales of application-specific fasteners soar at a faster pace than the standardized products and more OEMs replace non-specialized items with application-specific designs.

 Recent innovations and improvement on fastener design spotlight on new generations of self-locking and self-sealing fasteners. The newest generation of self-locking fasteners threaded highlights a promising future for manufacturers seeking for the fasteners with greater strength and reliability, achieved by reduced product weight, heightened joint strength, better resistance to vibration, temperature extremes, axial-torsion loading and less material fatigue. Lately, there is a new look in fastener family called flexible fastener. It looks like a normal bolt or screw, except the shank is composed of a flexible material such as nylon or steel cable, which allows the bolt to bend or flex laterally, yet not stretch axially. The fastener can be used to secure surfaces various types of surfaces either non-parallel or non-aligned where compliance is needed, owing to production or construction errors. Market SnapshotsFasteners are big business. World fastener market scale is predicted to reach US$46 billion in 2006, up 4.8 % than the previous year, and to hit US$55 billion by 2010, boosted by forthcoming economic expansion within the developing nations of Asia Pacific Rim, Mideast, Latin American and Eastern European regions. Robust growth will also be seen in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkey and Russia. The growths in the above-mentioned areas tend to outpace those in the US, Western Europe and Japan. The price war of fasteners continued for several years, which made many industrial players struggle to live out. Recently, the price competition is somewhat eased, not as fierce as in the previous years.  USAU.S. fastener industry operates nearly 350 manufacturing facilities with 40,000 employees. Every year, there are over 200 billion fasteners consumed mainly by the miscellaneous industries of automobile, aircraft, appliances, agricultural machinery and equipment, and the construction of commercial buildings and infrastructure. Among them, 26 billion pieces are used solely by the auto industry. In recent years, growth in fastener demand slow down as manufacturing output and construction spending moderate. However, U.S. is still the biggest buyer of fastener products. The country imports more than US$3 billions worth of fasteners from China, Taiwan and Japan annually. CHINAChina consumes 9% of world demands and surpasses Japan as the second largest fastener market in the world behind the US. At present, there are nearly 8,000 fastener enterprises in China. In the first half of 2006, the export value of China fasteners totaled 1.229 billion US dollars, or 40% of the national fastener output. Invariably, price maintains a crucial factor in decision-making. Buyers from the EU, the US and Australia prefer to buy more affordable fasteners made in China. Local enterprises are working on transfer the low-end bolts and nuts under the property class of 8.8 to the higher-ends of property class from 6.8 to 10.9. Since fastener technology has been relatively mature in China, the significance of differentiation has been constantly discussed. Recently, China government promotes local enterprises with “Made by China” program, namely by resorting to brand strategy, international standards such as GB, DIN, JIS and IFI, etc. and well-known certifications to overall upgrade the industry from labor-intensive low-ends to tech-based, value-added high-ends. ISO 9001 or ISO/TS 16949 is essential certification required to improve the quality, service and logistics. TAIWANTaiwan exports more than 90% of the fasteners it produces every year. Nowadays, Taiwan has shifted from mass production mode to customized service provider. Proprietary design fasteners are made to the patented designs, licensed to several manufacturers, for threads, drive types, head types, locking devices, points, etc. For industrial upgrading, the quality-uplifting financing program of US$875,000 was officially approved by the government, aiming to boost its exports of automotive fasteners to 40% of its total export from current 20% in two years. Meanwhile, the program hopes to increase retail price from about US$1.9 per kilogram on average, barely of 40% of the average price of Japan-made products to US$2.2 per kilogram in 2009 and US$2.87 in 2014.

Global Views on Hardware Headlines

Posted by wenbi in : Hardware , add a comment

ttnet.net - [2006/08/07]

Fastener Industry Up 5% Per Year Through 2007
Industrial fastener demand, usually dancing with the pace of industrialization and business circle of the world, is predicted to climb no less than 5% every year through 2007 to over $11 billion. Generally speaking, the demand will be spurred by robust growth in durable goods production and building spending. Accelerating global economic growth will also contribute to help speed in aftermarket fastener demand, even though improvements in fastener quality will somewhat curb maintenance/ repair/operations sales growth. Building sector, electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing will enjoy the fastest growth in end-use markets for fasteners.
Standardized industrial fasteners will continue to govern overall product demand. However the sales of application-specific fasteners jump at a prompter pace than other standardized product types while more OEMs take the place of non-specialized items with application-specific designs. In the other hand, demand for aerospace-grade fasteners is predicted to soar at better-than-expected rate through 2007, fueled by new momentum in aircraft production as global economic climate bodes well military expenditures keep climbing. Recently, innovations and improvement on fastener design focus on new generations of self-locking and self-sealing fasteners, which can be installed without the use of tools and fasteners fabricated from advanced alloys, composites and plastic materials. As more reinforced plastics are successfully developed and launched, plastic fasteners will be widely applied in a growing number of settings.

Global Valve Demands to Rise 5.5% Through 2007
Global demand for industrial valves is predicted to climb 5.5% per year through 2007 to over US$60 billion. The growth momentum is specially attributed to the blooming macroeconomic growth in the developing regions of Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The markets in the US, Japan and Western Europe, although not very prominent in performing, will also show slight improvement. Rising fixed investment levels will boost most valve consuming sectors and strengthen underdeveloped infrastructures in these regions.

Die-casting Hardware Boosted from Auto Sector
Die-casting is a process to form metal shapes from molten material, in most cases, typically nonferrous metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and zinc. Die-casting processes include sand casting, precision investment (lost wax) casting, and permanent mold casting. Generally speaking, the major market for die-casting is the automotive industry. Especially smaller electric motors calling for the application of die cast aluminum housings and end covers, further promote the usage of die-castings. Additionally, for further development of the die casting industry, production scale is of prime importance for industry players. However, the prerequisite for a large production size is large investment. The automotive industry is surely a strong support. In recent years, attention has been paid to the development of large capacity die casting machines, bringing up hot chamber machines accordingly.

Variety Uses of P/M, Powder Metallurgy
The basic P/M process uses pressure and heat to form precision metal parts and shapes. Powder is squeezed at room temperature by itself in a rigid precision die into an engineered shape like a gear. After the mass of powder is squeezed into a shape and ejected from the press, it is fed slowly through a special high-temperature controlled atmosphere furnace to bond the particles together. In contrast to other metal forming techniques, P/M parts are shaped directly from powders while castings are formed from metal that must be melted, and wrought parts are shaped by deformation of hot or cold metal, or by machining. P/M parts are used in a variety of end products such as lock hardware, garden tractors, snowmobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, auto brake and steering systems, etc. New Developments include improved manufacturing processes and commercialization such as metal injection molding: (MIM), rapid solidification, P/M forging, spray forming, high temperature vacuum sintering, warm compacting and both cold and hot isostatic pressing. The use of P/M hot forged connecting rods in automobiles and a P/M camshaft for automobile engines. The use of P/M composite camshafts in auto engines and main bearing caps, and stainless steel ABS sensor rings and exhaust system flanges. New submicron and nanophase powders for cutting tools and other specialized applications.

Bearings, Small Parts Big Use
Bearings belong to a major component in a machine to reduce friction and, simultaneously maintain the expected precision and stability while machine working. By statistics, the size of global bearing market approximates US$30 billion every year. Coming in over ten thousand kinds, bearings can be found everywhere in a gear from small drivers, motor cars, conveyors, electrical machinery to big ships. Fundamentally, bearings are composed of two parts: sliding bearings and rolling bearings. The most frequently-used bearings are linear bearings, connecting bearings, ball bearings, roller bearings, trust bearings and needle bearings. The precision quality of bearings depends on hardness, wear rate, mechanic strength and stability along with concentricity, sphericalness and roughness. In these years, the users of conventional ball bearings and roller bearings have been gradually upgraded to ball guide bars, linear bearings, connecting bearings and oil-less bushings. Some higher-level bearings should resort to the help of technicians. King-size bearings for steel-making or petrochemical industry are heavily installed and traced by technical suppliers. The popularity of NC/ CNC machine tools and automated warehouse systems provides a stable-growing background for bearings industry. The up-and-coming trends follow the advantages of high precision, high speed, compact size, lightweight, maintenance-free and durability.

A Quick Look on Fastener and Bearing Industries

Posted by wenbi in : Hardware , add a comment

ttnet.net - [2006/01/23]

INDUSTRIAL FASTENERS are generally classified as standards, specials, or proprietary designs, in members fundamentally of metal bolts, nuts, screws, rivets, washers, formed and threaded wire goods and special industrial fasteners. Standard fasteners are mass-produced, and typically cold-headed threaded parts.

China is the fastest-growing supplying nation in this field thanks to the advantages of cheaper labors and raw materials, along with land acquisition. Special fasteners are usually based on standard designs, yet sometimes incorporate non-standard tolerances, pitch and diameter combinations, drives, lengths, etc. or made in assigned requirements on alloys or separate secondary operations including drilling and punching.

Taiwan has shifted from mass production mode to customized special fastener supplier. Proprietary design fasteners are made to the patented designs, licensed to several manufacturers, for threads, drive types, head types, locking devices, points and more.

Fasteners are big business. For instance, every year, U.S., the biggest buyer, consumes over 200 billion fasteners. And automobile industry alone uses 26 billion pieces in 2005. The booms of fastener industry in the Asian Pacific Rim, mainly Taiwan, Japan and China enable these countries to expand exporting territories to U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, and South America. In 2004, the consumption of fasteners in U.S. reached $9,878 billion. Total imported value of $3,065 billion worth of fasteners was primarily from Taiwan (US$1,715 billion), Japan (US$501 billion), and from China (US$421 billion). Oncoming global consolidation and acquisitions make large companies even bigger. This enables them to devote to the development of highly engineered, technologically advanced fasteners and offering value-added customer services such as ¡§just in time¡¨ (JIT) delivery and customer-designed or specialized design/engineering services.

BEARINGS are basically used to ease friction between moving parts or to carry load in certain industries such as those that handle materials. They can be broadly categorized into two segments, bimetals and anti-friction bearings. There are four main types of bearings, including ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, taper roller bearings and needle roller bearings.

Bearings are generally regarded as a barometer of the country’s technical advancement since they function as the backbone of the national industrial future.

Bearings are largely used in automobile industry, followed by general engineering, electrical industries, heavy industry and railways industry. The materials used to manufacture bearings vary from conventional steel to ceramics, brass and plastics. The most common material used to produce bearing rings, balls and rollers is alloy steel conforming to specifications SAE 52100. Still, this standard material is also distinguished by if it can render prolonged life span and improved quality on purity and oxygen content.

In response to ever-changing market demands, industrial players focus on developing bearings with reinforced compactness, reduced weight and noise, greater speed capability, higher accuracy, longer life, and better performance such as on extremely low and high temperatures and vacuums. In addition, bearing suppliers are also ready to provide technical supports to customers from development to mass production in meet their specific needs throughout all stages.