Episode 9 : “Where are “springs” used in a car?” (No.4)

Happy New Year and welcome back to all our readers from 2006. This year, we continue our Banneko Child of Spring series and hope that you will enjoy the articles. During the northern winter, many people drive to hot springs and ski slopes. Winter driving is more hazardous than usual so drive safely and make sure to use snow chains and keep your car windows ice-free.

This is article four in our series about where springs are used in automobiles. Piolax springs are used mainly in the fuel system, drive system, open/close mechanisms, fasteners, harnesses, precision parts, and clamp parts.

Previously, we talked about open/close mechanisms and now we’ll take a brief look at fasteners.

When people hear the word “fastener”, most think of zippers and so they wonder where zips are used in automobiles! But actually, fastener means something that stops or fixes another part in position. In other words, fasteners are parts that are used in autos to fix various internal and external parts and tubes and pipes in position. They can be made of either metals or plastics.

For example, in the vehicle cabin, they play an important role in appearance and are often hidden from view. This type of fastener is used to hold the interior trim panels on doors. Fasteners that are reused must be easy to repeatedly unfasten and fasten and these types are commonly used in the engine compartment to secure parts that may be repaired and changed by mechanics.
On the vehicle exterior, fasteners are now commonly used to secure parts that were previously fixed by screws. For example, high-strength, high-durability, easy-to-use fasteners are used to secure polycarbonate parts like lamp covers. There are a huge variety of other fasteners, such plastic nuts that can be assembled from one direction, and metal nuts for temporarily fixing mating parts.

Fasteners also play an important role in building and recycling (disassembling) environment-friendly automobiles.

So now you know a little more about the technology of automobile “zippers”.
Actually, most people other than car mechanics never see the fasteners used in automobiles but fasteners are the most commonly used part and there are about 200 on average in a car.

So when you are driving next time, you can enjoy your passengers’ expressions when you entertain them with your new knowledge about how many fasteners there are and where they are used in your car.
Next time, we’ll talk about the various types of harnesses in automobiles. Until then, drive safely.

Written by Banekko (a child of spring)