What to consider when choosing fasteners for leisure craft manufacturing

When looking at your end product, it’s not likely your customers will think “I wonder what it’s held together with.” But since the dawn of manufacturing, what designers and manufacturers use to keep the parts of their product together has made a huge difference to cost, quality, and longevity.

In the product design phase, it’s vital to consider what you want from the materials you use. Setting that goal will help inform your decisions when choosing a solution.

In the world of luxury items however, such as pleasure craft, there’s just as much emphasis on the aesthetics of your engineering as there is on the quality.

Did you know that exposure to saltwater doesn’t affect 316 grade stainless steel as much as it does to standard 300 grade stainless steel?

It’s important to carefully consider each piece, how it will hold up, and how it will be used. We’ve been selling a huge range of fasteners to a variety of clients for over 45 years, so here are our top four things you should look for when choosing a fastener.

1. What are you using it on?

The very first thing to consider – and the thing you likely already know – is what your product is. As mentioned above, there are plenty of ways a product’s audience, users and location will affect things like build quality, price and look. We always find that the best thing you can do is choose which of these you want to prioritise and work backwards from there.

Think about what your customer expects from your pleasure craft. If they want quality and security, nothing could be worse than a fastener weakening or loosening and losing holding power. If they know it’s a cheaper product and need it more for casual use, then going for the finest in fastening technology will only mean you’re wasting money.

     2. What type will work best?

From bolts to screws, to nuts, to rivets – and that’s only scratching the surface – there are so many options available to you when you’re choosing a fastener and that’s not even to mention the range of nut types and screw heads.

You already know what your product is, and what factors you’re prioritising. From there, you need to find which fastener has strengths in those fields. For example, rivets are resistant to vibration, so in small boats and pleasure craft they will make for a much stronger connection than nuts or screws.

     3. What material will you need?

This isn’t just about use – certain grades of stainless steel are affected by environmental factors differently to others. That difference extends well beyond stainless steel; there are plenty of options for different materials: bronze, brass, aluminium, even nylon.

As with stainless steel, each material type will have different grades, suitable for different usages. There are so many options available for each material, so we recommend doing your own research or contacting an expert to help you make the final decision.

Picking the wrong material is in some cases worse than picking the wrong fastener altogether. You need to be sure that the material can stand up to use so researching the strengths and weaknesses of each one is vital.

     4. Where will you source it from?

This might actually be the most important factor to consider when it comes to choosing a fastener. Many companies manufacture similar products and so finding the best one to suit your goals requires expertise that your design team may not have. That’s why, here at Zygology, our main goal is making sure you get the right fastener for your product. We do this through our consultancy services, where our team can directly support your design team with finding a fastener that will reach and surpass your expectations and then we can source it for you.

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But sourcing isn’t just about initially finding the right fastener; it’s about having that product be supplied in such a way that you can be sure you won’t run out. Sometimes manufacturers go under or they stop creating a specific product – and when that happens it can be a disaster. That’s why we make sure to give our customers the chance to find an alternative that still suits their needs.

We only supply the best fasteners to our customers. Whether it’s for price, rust resistance, easy installation, or something as simple as how it looks, buying from Zygology comes with a guarantee that you’ve got experts supporting your production line.