Reprint from Fastener World Magazine, Vol. 177

There are many ways that fastener manufacturers can make quality deficient parts. If one attempted to classify the source of all these different failure modes and quality issues, they likely would emerge with three or four general categories. One of these general categories and perhaps the single greatest contributor to end product quality issues is the quality of the raw material from which every fastener starts. This article will explore some of the most common quality issues related to raw material and seek to simply describe how each specific issue has an impact on final part quality.