Select 316 stainless steel bar for nut body, 316 stainless steel spring wire and 316 stainless steel ball as raw materials. Conduct incoming material inspection, including spectrometer chemical composition analysis, hardness and tensile strength testing to verify compliance with ASTM A240 standard. Visual inspection is performed to screen raw materials with surface pits, oxidation spots, cracks or internal inclusions. Cut the stainless steel bar into fixed-length blanks by precision sawing according to drawing dimensions, and remove cutting chips and oil contamination to obtain qualified semi-finished blanks for subsequent forming.
2.Cold Forging & Machining:
Carry out room-temperature cold forging on 316 stainless steel blanks with dedicated forging moulds to form the curved T-slot nut body profile. Cold forging optimizes internal metal grain flow to enhance the mechanical strength of the nut. After forging, perform tapping to process standard internal threads, strictly controlling thread pitch, tooth profile and dimensional tolerance to guarantee smooth matching with mating screws. Machine the reserved small hole cavity on the nut body for assembling spring and steel ball, and monitor hole size and position accuracy during machining.
3.Cavity Finishing & Spring and Steel Ball Preparation:
Precision reaming and deburring for the spring-ball mounting cavity on nut body to eliminate sharp edge burrs that may scratch the spring. Cut 316 stainless steel spring wire into specified length and wind into compression springs, then carry out spring heat setting treatment to stabilize elastic performance. Select 316 stainless steel balls with high roundness, inspect surface finish and diameter tolerance, and remove defective balls with scratches or deformation.
4.Spring & Steel Ball Assembly & Pre-test:
Assemble the compression spring and stainless steel ball sequentially into the pre-machined cavity of nut body. Ensure the spring can push the steel ball to protrude outwards smoothly, and the steel ball will retract into the cavity under external pressure. Conduct manual compression test piece by piece to check the telescoping performance of steel ball. Reject products with stuck ball, insufficient spring force or ball falling off.
5.Surface Finishing & Multi-dimensional Performance Testing:
Carry out fine tumble polishing to clear surface oil stains, metal particles and tiny burrs. Complete a full set of performance tests: thread fit test to verify screw assembly smoothness; steel ball telescoping cycle fatigue test; vibration anti-shift test; salt spray corrosion test to validate the anti-corrosion performance of 316 stainless steel. Isolate and sort out all non-conforming products.
6.Final Full Inspection & Moisture-proof Packaging:
Implement full final inspection against engineering drawings, including overall dimension check, appearance inspection, thread integrity verification and steel ball elastic rebound function test. Qualified products go through ultrasonic cleaning and hot air drying to remove residual dirt. Pack finished nuts into moisture-proof bags with desiccants, mark product specifications, batch number and material grade on packaging labels, to protect parts from moisture and mechanical damage during storage and ocean transportation.