This Grommet Edging Mousetrap Saves OEMs 49% of Total Install Costs

Welcome to Thomas Insights — every day, we publish the latest news and analysis to keep our readers up to date on what's happening in industry. Sign up here to get the day's top stories delivered straight to your inbox.

This article was sponsored by Device Technologies, Inc.

Device Technologies' Spring-Fast® grommet edging will save OEMs at least 49% of their total install costs because it can be applied with finger pressure and grips securely without glue.

Since the 1940s, OEMs have used molded nylon grommets like MS21266 to protect wiring. The standard operating procedure has been to secure these strips to edges with glue because nylon grommets do not have any inherent grip. This lack of grip is compounded by its method of manufacture which causes the strip to suffer from either coil set or straight set. This tendency makes the nylon want to bend away from most edges which can cause the bonding operation to fail.

Multiple items for application and safety have to be gathered.

Edge preparation is often required: abrasion or cleaning to help adhesion.

The glue has to be mixed/or applied — a nonstandard operation with wide variability.

In almost all cases, the grommet will need "fixturing" with tape/clamps until the glue cures.

Excess adhesive has to be cleaned up safely.

After-inspection rework is relatively high as coil set/straight-set can cause de-bonding.

The glued nylon grommet was invented in the 1940s. It was state-of-the-art for its time, but technology has moved on.

It provides best-in-class performance and saves OEMs 49% of the installed cost.

It applies with finger pressure in seconds.

It can be taken off and reworked for a better alignment without loss of grip.

It passes aerospace-level grip or static load tests.

No need for shop consumables such as glue, gloves, wipes, tape, solvent, masks, and fans, creating additional savings.

Improves efficiency by 9.5x — techs can be reassigned faster or the production itself can speed up.

This advanced functionality was built into Spring-Fast's design. It has a polymer-coated, ultra-thin stainless substrate with opposing finger-like castles that exert a compression force, like a clock spring, for proven retention without glue.

Time is money for all OEMs, and whether nylon grommets are attached in batches or on a line, the install process is far longer than with Spring-Fast. Techs have to spend time gathering, prepping the surface, sometimes mixing the glue, applying the glue to the edge and grommet, fixturing to help the glue bond and cure, cleaning up, followed by an inspection and possible rework. Spring-Fast makes all that busy and costly work obsolete.

Spring-Fast is already applied extensively across multiple sectors like aerospace (commercial and military), tactical military vehicles, rail and transit, IT/Telecom, Power/Energy, Food processing, HVAC, and many others because grommet edging usage is ubiquitous across manufacturing. It offers best-in-class protection with a 49% saving.

Device Technologies, Inc., est. 1984 is a leading wire protection component manufacturer producing best-in-class grommet edging, industrial seals, trim, cable waterfalls, wire sleeving/wrap, and wire coating services.

DTI has an AS9100 and ISO 9001 Quality Control System for their 20,000 square-foot Class A production facility.

This article was sponsored by Device Technologies, Inc. Click this link to request free samples of Spring-Fast or any of their other products.

Image Credit: Device Technologies