Our world leading Tangless® inserts can be used to reduce installation and removal times by up to 40% for the assembly team.
KATO® comes in either Tanged or Tangless® versions and is used in various sectors including Automotive, Rail, Defence, Aerospace and Medical Device Development. The Tangless® insert was designed to reduce installation time, eliminate the need for tang removal and thus give debris free installations of Wire Thread inserts. They also provide full traceability and are fully compliant with the key aerospace and military standards.
Lightweight materials are essential for Aerospace and other high performance applications. Wire thread inserts make it possible to take advantage of these while maintaining the strength of the bolted joint. A simple design table makes it easy to select the correct insert for the application, ensuring that the bolt remains the weakest part of the design. Threaded inserts create permanent, wear-resistant thread that exceeds the strength of most parent materials.
Both the Tanged and Tangless® threaded inserts are made from cold-rolled stainless steel wire (AS7245), work hardened to a tensile strength above 200,000 psi and a hardness of Rc 43-50. The finished surface is extremely smooth which helps to virtually eliminate friction-induced thread erosion. The stainless steel that is used to make KATO® can resist harsh environmental conditions and is suitable for many applications. KATO® can withstand temperatures ranging from -320F to 800F (-195.6C to 426.7C).
Inserts can be used to repair threads, or designed into the component to reinforce and protect them. Other threaded inserts exist, but Wire Thread Inserts provide the strongest and lightest joints in these lightweight materials. For a constant wall thickness they enable the designer to create the smallest, and therefore lightest, component. An additional benefit is that the stress is distributed more evenly along the length of an insert than a tapped thread, which reduces the chance of stripping and fatigue failures.
Advanex produce the KATO® in both Metric and Unified sizes with both the Tanged and Tangless® available in M2 to M12 Metric ranges and the Unified in 2-56 to 3/8-16 size range. The entire range is available both “free running” and “locking” styles with five standard lengths and materials range from standard stainless steel through Nitronic™, Inconel™ and Phosphor Bronze as well as plating options including Cadmium, Dry Film Lube and Silver.
When using KATO® a tapped hole is prepared using a standard drill bit which is then countersunk. The hole is then tapped using an STI (Screw Thread Insert) tap. The Tanged or Tangless® insert is then installed into the tapped hole. In a free state, the insert is bigger in diameter than the tapped hole. The inserting tool “pre-winds” the insert to a smaller outside diameter allowing it to enter the tapped thread. When the insert is released from the tool, the insert springs outward, anchoring itself into the tapped hole. With Tanged inserts the tang would then need to be removed at this stage for the thread to be ready to use.
For Tangless® inserts the installation process is simple. Thread the insert onto the tools’ mandrel. The unique bi-directional design means no time is needed to orientate the insert. Align the insert with the tapped hole and press the trigger on the electric tool. After that it’s automatic – the insert goes in, the tool comes out and the job is finished. For Tanged inserts it is more costly to install an insert into a blind hole, break-off, remove and account for the tang. Some customers estimate this cost as high as 30p per tapped hole. Loose tangs not removed can cause costly damage and production down time to expensive electronic and mechanical components.
Additionally, Tangless® inserts are easily removed without damage to the customer’s expensive parts, unlike conventional Tanged inserts, allowing easy service of components or the separation of dissimilar materials at the products “end of life”. It is also possible to adjust the installation depth of a Tangless® insert if it were installed too deep. This adjustment is not possible with Tanged inserts.
The free running and locking, bi-directional inserts provide strong permanent internal threads, which resist heat and corrosion. For high volume production KATO® can be supplied in reels of plastic tape known as Strip Feed Inserts. This reduces the need for manual positioning of the inserts.
A range of tooling has also been developed for insertion and extraction. The tooling range is available in hand, air and electric versions depending on customers’ needs and demands.