Apl Corporation

Leon Wadsworth

Philip O Badger

A method for reducing sliding friction of threaded fasteners according to the present invention includes the steps of providing a threadless austenitic stainless steel blank, coating the surface of the blank with a lamellar solid material, such as molybdenum disulfide, by introducing the threadless blank into a solution of molybdenum disulfide suspended within a carrying agent such as isopropanol or n-Butyl alcohol, heating the coated fastener to accelerate evaporation of the carrying agent, and forming threads into the coated surface using a thread rolling technique characterized by moving the blank through a series of traversing serrated dies moving in opposite directions parallel to one another to exert pressure on the coated surface, thereby both forming threads without removing metal from the surface, and impregnating the surface and near surface structure with the low friction species. Fasteners manufactured according to the present method exhibit reduced sliding friction and increased clamping force.

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South Bend, IN, United States of America

Leon Wadsworth