The precision engineering required to assemble rockets, civil infrastructure, oil rigs, fusion technology and submarines leaves little margin for error. In extreme conditions, machinery and buildings may have to withstand heavy loads, corrosive environments and extreme temperatures.
Every single component has to be of the highest quality to ensure safety and reliability. That includes the nuts, bolts, washers and socket head screws that hold the highly complex machines or infrastructure together, often for many decades.
BUMAX manufactures the world’s strongest stainless steel bolts for the most demanding conditions. Its high-strength fasteners are used in brutal subsea environments, in some of Australia’s biggest infrastructure projects and even in space.
Distributed in Australia by Hobson Engineering, Australia’s leading supplier of high-quality bolts and fasteners, BUMAX stainless steel fastener products are manufactured in Sweden in tensile strengths from 800 MPa to over 1500 MPa, making them the most robust and long-lasting on the market.
“We’ve developed manufacturing and technological expertise over nearly 100 years that allows us to push the performance of our products further than anyone else,” said Nimeka de Silva, BUMAX’s Head of Marketing. “The composition and quality of the stainless steel we use also leads to a valuable combination of high mechanical performance and an ability to withstand corrosion more effectively compared with generic market alternatives.”
Superior Performance
BUMAX uses only premium European stainless steel manufactured to stringent specifications. For example, BUMAX 88 and 109 products are produced from a unique premium A4/316L stainless steel grade that increases resistance to corrosion compared to the more commonly available A4/316L.
They both boast a pitting resistance equivalent number (PREN) of 27, higher than standard A4/316, which typically has a PREN of 25.
“That might not sound like much of a difference on paper, but in real terms, this could be a difference of many more years in service before seeing any sign of corrosion,” de Silva said.
“And the BUMAX product range goes up from there with duplex, nitronic, super-duplex, super-austenitic and other high alloy stainless grades.”
A fastener grade such as BUMAX SDX 109 (super duplex) has exceptional mechanical properties and very high resistance to general, crevice, pitting and stress corrosion. It can boast lifespans of over 50 years, even in aggressive offshore environments.
“BUMAX offers high performance options for engineers in bolting applications across a range of industries and environments such as chemical processing plants, construction, marine, mining, tunnelling, subsea and offshore installations,” de Silva said.
In construction, BUMAX high-strength stainless steel is equivalent in strength to Grades 8.8 and 10.9 and can be designed to replace carbon steel bolts in both non-preloaded and pre-loaded structural applications.
The company’s products are increasingly used as higher-performance and more reliable alternatives to traditional coated high-tensile 12.9 carbon steel bolts or as a more cost-effective solution to nickel alloys and titanium grades.
“Most of our business development managers have an engineering background, which allows us to work more closely with our customers, advising on the best solution against a range of factors such as corrosion, fatigue performance, mechanical strength, design considerations and manufacturability,” he said.
“A valuable extension of this is our partnership with the very best distributors in different regions to support our customers, so we’re very happy to have such a long-established relationship with Hobson Engineering in Australia.”
Long-term sustainability
Another reason why sales of BUMAX fasteners have risen is the stringent sustainability targets in place for all major engineering projects, not only for the initial build but also the long-term operation, maintenance and end-of-life recyclability.
“Upfront cost used to be the primary consideration but more and more we’re seeing environmental impact and whole life costs becoming a unified concern” de Silva said. BUMAX’s 88 & 109 range is supported by an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which helps engineers to evaluate the lifecycle impact of utilising BUMAX bolts within their designs.
“Asset owners therefore need the reassurance that products will remain reliable over an entire lifespan. A significant advantage of stainless steel materials is that they are highly recyclable so form part of the circular economy.”
BUMAX bolts are also integral to one construction in a particularly brutal environment: the International Space Station.
“We’re very proud that our technology is helping to push the frontiers of scientific and technological development,” de Silva said. “In fact, we’ve seen a rapid rise in the number of space applications in the last few years, so it’s an area where we’ve developed some expertise. When assembled structures are subject to the extremes of going beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, nothing can be left to chance.”
Find out more about Hobson Engineering’s comprehensive and fully accredited range of BUMAX products.