The Top 5 Quality Issues with Cheap Fasteners

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Purchasing managers must always keep their budgets in mind when buying fasteners. But when you’re too focused on price, you might sacrifice quality. And regardless of the application at hand, sacrificing quality is unacceptable. Your first priority should always be quality. If you choose to buy cheap fasteners to save a few bucks, you might be faced with a slew of quality issues that will actually cost you more in the end—in labour costs, operational expenses, and a bad reputation.

Here are the top five quality issues you’ll have to deal with if you go with cheap fasteners for your application.

Product Failure

When you buy cheap fasteners, you risk manufacturing a defective product. It doesn’t matter how great your product is if the fasteners used to hold it together aren’t right for your application. If your fastener is just a fraction of a millimeter off from your original design, you’ll be in trouble.

When manufacturers create cheap fasteners, they’re not too concerned with ensuring that the nuts and bolts they create match your design perfectly. They won’t test them to make sure they’ve been manufactured to your exact specifications. They have a “good enough” policy that you simply cannot afford if you’re in the business of selling high-quality products.

Lack of Durability

When people buy products, they want them to last. But if you’re placing cheap bolts and screws in your applications, you’re not giving your customers the durability that they expect. It won’t take long before your bolts and screws weaken and break due to wear and tear, which can render your product useless in no time. Give your clients their money’s worth by ensuring that you manufacture products that will last for the long haul. No one wants to be forced to replace fasteners within a few short weeks or months of buying a product.

No Strength

Fastener strength is especially important when it comes to industrial applications. If you buy cheap fasteners to hold together industrial equipment, they simply won’t have the strength to withstand the pressures being placed on them. They’ll most likely be made of cheap materials that won’t be strong enough for your application. A big load can snap a cheap fastener in half.

They Won’t Withstand Environmental Conditions

Chances are if you’re buying cheap bolts and screws, the appropriate plating and surface coatings won’t protect them. That means they’ll be susceptible to corrosion. They won’t be able to withstand the elements. The moment they’re faced with any type of moisture, they’ll start to rust, which will weaken them considerably. And if they’re not manufactured properly, they’ll likely be covered in tiny holes and gaps that suck in moisture quickly.

Difficult Installation

When you buy cheap nuts and bolts, you’ll find them a lot more difficult to use. They’ll be more likely to break during installation, which can cause frustration and increase your operational and labour costs. Not to mention you’ll have to replace those broken fasteners before your products even get out the door, which means you’ll be spending more money buying the same fastener twice.

Cheap Nuts and Bolts Cause Myriad Problems

The problems you’ll be forced to deal with won’t be worth the money you’ll save up front with cheap fasteners. You’ll not only have a whole bunch of unhappy customers who might choose never to do business with you, but you’ll probably have to deal with negative reviews and bad press that can damage your profitability for a long time in the future. Plus, depending on your application, you could be putting people who use your products at risk if your product fails.

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