Cutting and incoming material inspection

Every RS Randack special fastener starts out as bar stock from an approved European steel mill. Cutting is the first of ten production steps and also the start of the quality chain: this is where each lot is assigned to its heat, where the batch is marked, and where traceability starts, ending later in the certificate. Five automatic band saws cut round bar typically up to 400 mm in diameter, larger sizes on request.

How are incoming goods handled?

1. Delivery note, purchase order and mill certificate are checked against each other; the material remains blocked until incoming inspection is complete.
2. Every delivery is checked for radioactivity.
3. Dimensions and surface are checked for each bundle, and for material supplied quenched and tempered, the hardness as well.
4. Each bundle is given a material tag with heat and batch number. At least three bars per bundle are labelled with the heat number, and the ends of all bars are colour-marked.
5. If a delivery consists of several bundles, material verification (PMI) follows, using the spark spectrometer on at least three bars per bundle.

Identical diameters from different batches are never stored in the same rack compartment. See Material verification and batch traceability for more.

How is the material sawn?

The works order states the material, heat, diameter and cut length. The cut length is the bolt length plus an allowance for forging and machining; for forged parts, it is determined in a forging trial and documented for repeat orders. Before cutting, the saw operator checks the bar against the material tag and sets the length and quantity, and the automatic band saw then works through the lot on its own, even overnight. The first and second billets are checked for length and squareness of cut, then every twentieth and the last one. Sawing is done with coolant and without heat input into the microstructure; thermal cutting is not used. For each lot, at least one test bar is cut from the same bar, and always for parts subject to third-party inspection; it accompanies the parts through every subsequent step.

Austenitic steels processed separately

Austenitic stainless steels are processed to stricter requirements: in dedicated non-metallic containers, on a cleaned saw, with a new saw blade and fresh coolant. This prevents foreign iron from being embedded in the surface, which could later cause rust staining.

What comes after cutting?

Billets for headed bolts and for nuts go to the forge; billets for turned parts, pins and studs go straight to CNC machining. Consumption and offcuts are reported for each order so that stock levels are correct and material remains available for the next rush order.