Finding the Right Solutions for Your Supply Chain with Austin Hardware®

The job of securing your business data and ensuring your supply chain runs smoothly is critical. In light of recent world events, that job also has never been more challenging. 

As a source of solutions for your business, we can't be too thorough or too careful, which is why everything we do at Austin Hardware®, from the training of our employees to the safeguards on our e-commerce website, are designed to achieve those goals.

We utilize state-of-the-art inventory management software to provide accurate, current inventory levels, ensuring you have safety stock to avoid crucial line-down situations.  

The ADS 7650 and AH 7600 series side mount drawer slides from Austin Hardware® are high-quality, heavy-duty slides representing two of the best drawer slide options available.

Both are found extensively in emergency vehicles, utility bodies, cargo vans, maintenance trucks, recreational vehicles, and many other vehicular and non-vehicular applications. This is because their durability, flexibility, and ease of use are second to none.

Both series’ have a load rating of up to 500 lbs. per pair, making them suitable to store all types of valuable cargo. The slides are tested at the 18” length but have been shown to perform to this rating up to 28”.

The AH 7600 is the original, non-locking version of this slide. It is sold in pairs for applications where a lock is not required or desired.

The United States Congress has designated October 28 as National First Responders Day.

Our team at Austin Hardware would like to say Thank You to all of our nation’s first responders on National First Responders Day. When we need you most, you are there for us. It requires courage and sacrifice to do what you do, and it is appreciated more than we could possibly convey.

As a supplier of hardware for fire, rescue, and emergency vehicles, we are incredibly proud of the small role we play in the industry.

We are especially proud of the Austin-engineered products designed to help keep first responders safe, including:

• B Lift Hydraulic Bariatric Lift
• LifeDefender™ Cabinet Security Frames
• Ceiling IV Hanger System for EMS Vehicles
• & more!

Thank a first responder in your community.

The number of different types of screws available today is dizzying. There are many types for virtually any application.  

We’re not going to try to explain every different type here. We’re only going to look at the three we see used most often in the transportation and metal fabrication industries. 

They include: 

• - Type F Thread Cutting and Thread Forming Screws 
• - Tek Screws 
• - Self-Tapping Screws 
•  

Thread cutting screws alone are available in numerous styles. A thread cutting screw is defined by its sharp edges at the tip and a cutout line to clear cut material. The difference between the types may include the number of cutting edges, the shape of the clearing cutout, the spacing of the threads, among other physical properties that make each uniquely suited for specific applications. 

In a previous post, we discussed many of the different types of standard fastening nuts. In this edition, we’ll talk about locknuts. The major difference between standard nuts and locknuts is standard nuts consist simply of a threaded hole, while locknuts are designed to prevent loosening when exposed to vibration. As with standard nuts, there are many different variations of locknuts from which to choose. We’ll take a look at some of the more popular locknuts here. 

Fastener Series – Blog Post 19A (Fastening Nuts)

Thanks for your Interest in the 6th Edition of the Austin Hardware Charity Football Pool

The current challenges for Fire Truck and other specialty vehicle manufacturers are complex and ever-changing. Challenges include supply chain volatility, rapid design changes to accommodate electrification, and new ways of differentiating between manufacturers.

Supply Chain Simplification:

Using adhesives, such as Plexus®, can help simplify supply chain troubles because a suitable structural adhesive can replace multiple SKUs of different fasteners. As a result, Plexus adhesives dramatically reduces the risk of line-down situations due to specialty fastener stock-outs. In addition, SKU reduction by replacing with one structural adhesive can lead to significant inventory cost savings.

Even if you’re not ready to eschew fasteners altogether, applying Plexus adhesives along with mechanical fasteners at the ends can still help simplify the supply chain. This style of manufacturing leads to very fast throughput and “one-piece flow.”

The speed and ease of installation of blind fasteners make them an excellent choice for manufacturers of all types of products. This is especially true when access to an application's backside is limited at best or completely inaccessible.

Once determined that a blind fastener is right for the application, the user then must decide which type of blind fastener is most appropriate. While many factors could play into this decision, strength requirements and vibration resistance are two criteria that sit at the forefront.

For lighter duty applications that are not load-bearing (under 100 lbs. of shear and tensile strength), a standard blind rivet is often adequate. For more information on standard blind rivets, check out our four-part series on blind rivets.

As you know, Austin Hardware® has worked diligently since 1960 to develop the best solutions to deliver quality parts and services to the wide variety of customers and industries we serve. As a result of our partnership, we are now an authorized distributor for Goebel Fasteners, Inc. and will distribute their product lines which consist of: