Posted Date: 05/15/2012
There are many debates about the fundamentals of engineering. Are they a sound basis in mathematics and physics? Are they an understanding of the properties of materials and how they can be manipulated? Do they depend on studying the needs of society and how technology can meet them? Stuart Nathan reports
But all of these miss the obvious. The fundamentals of engineering — the nuts and bolts, if you like — are nuts and bolts. And screws, clips, nails and every other type of fastening. The whole thing would literally fall apart without them.
Although ubiquitous, fasteners are often taken for granted or overlooked altogether. Yet the fasteners sector is large, producing more than 100,000 tonnes of product in the UK every year (…)
