Fasteners and screws are essential materials for making products in industries like automotive, medical devices, and industrial products. However, designers and engineers are often limited by the standardized sizes of commercially-available screws and fasteners. Custom-designed screws, such as micro plastic forming screws, can expand the potential for design and functionality in a range of products, including computers and electronic devices. These can be produced according to specifications and drawings for special projects that need micro sizes.

The limitations of standardized screw sizes
Screws and fasteners have been used by designers and craftsmen for thousands of years. Because they were largely made by hand, their sizes were not standardized. This created numerous problems for production as well as repairs, as no two screws were identical, making replacement a chancy matter. It was not until 1928 that the National Screw Thread Commission established standard sizes for screw threads, which made interchangeability, replacements and repairs possible.
Fasteners continue to be essential for manufacturing today and about 200 billion are used each year in the U.S. However, while standardized screw sizes were a major step forward, they came with a disadvantage: design and engineering projects had to be limited by the screw sizes available. This problem became especially acute with the development of the electronics and automotive industries, which often call for tiny screws and micro fasteners.

Custom screws for special designs
Now many screw manufacturers offer custom designed screws like micro plastic forming screws, to allow for greater flexibility in the design and manufacture of products that have a sleeker profile. These have many applications in specialized industries producing medical devices, automotive parts and other industrial products.
Custom sized screws can be manufactured according to the client’s specifications, to suit each project. These can be made from drawings submitted by the client, and can be customized for size, head thickness, thread sizes and design. Custom designs like micro plastic forming screws can be used in special projects that call for smaller and hard to find sizes.

Advantages of custom screws
There are many benefits of using custom screws for special projects. They can be made in different materials and with a number of different coating options. The advantages of using custom screw options include:

• Hard to find sizes
• Special materials like stainless steel and aluminum
• Coatings can be customized, with options like zinc, nickel, and black oxide
• A wide range of design options, including thread lock, custom SEMs, Chicago bolts, wireforms and springs
• Pricing discounts for large orders

Custom screws and fasteners such as micro plastic forming screws for special projects can help design engineers move beyond the limits set by standardized sizes. They are fully customizable from drawings and specifications, and can be made with many different materials and coatings.