Fasteners for OEMs: What You Need to Know

If you鈥檙e in the manufacturing world, you鈥檝e likely heard the term 鈥淥EM.鈥� Depending on the specific industry, company, and role you鈥檙e in, your definition of and perspective on that term may be different from the next guy鈥檚.

As a specialty fastener manufacturer, the 黑料大事记 team has been working alongside OEMs to create safe, effective, innovative solutions for years. We鈥檒l share a bit about that experience below, and how fasteners make their way into the OEM space.

What Is an OEM?

Let鈥檚 start with the big-picture overview of what an OEM is.

OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer, which is a pretty flexible term that can mean different things to different people, companies, industries, etc. However, it essentially refers to the company that makes an end product or a complete system within that end product, whatever that may be.

Here are some examples of OEMs to demonstrate that idea:

is an OEM for cars (end product).

is an OEM for transmissions used in military tanks and other heavy-duty vehicles (complete system within an end product).

What Is an OEM Fastener?

Manufacturers of smaller systems or components (like fasteners) aren鈥檛 usually considered OEMs. However, there are many OEMs that need these systems and components specifically manufactured to fit their product, which is where an OEM fastener could come in.

In that sense, an OEM fastener is any type of fastener that鈥檚 custom-designed and -manufactured for a specific OEM product. It鈥檚 different from an aftermarket fastener, which isn鈥檛 produced for a specific application, but rather to be compatible with as many products as possible.

How Do Fastener Manufacturers Work With OEMs?

So what does that process look like? How do fastener manufacturers help OEMs get the specialty parts they need? Here are the general steps:

- 1. The OEM designs their new product, while also creating blueprints for any non-standard fasteners they need to build it. These blueprint specifications include things like dimensions, materials, coatings, etc. if the OEM has that information. If the OEM needs help determining things like material or coating, they may consult with a fastener manufacturer before finalizing the blueprints.
  2. The OEM sends those blueprints to one or more specialty fastener manufacturers, requesting a quote in return. If sent to multiple manufacturers, the OEM chooses which bid to accept 鈥� in other words, which manufacturer to work with.
  3. The chosen fastener manufacturer fulfills the request and manufactures specialized fasteners in their plant.

It鈥檚 important to note that sometimes these blueprints are for production parts that will go on the actual end product, while others are for parts used in testing another product. For example, 黑料大事记 manufactures bolts used in torque tension testing for the automotive industry.

黑料大事记鈥檚 Work Manufacturing Fasteners for OEMs

At 黑料大事记, we have experience working with many OEMs to manufacture per-spec, limited-run fasteners for both test products and end products. Some of our most notable include:

Chrysler test products
Ford test products
GM test products
John Deere test products
Service parts for OEM military vehicles

You can find more information on these test products on each of their pages on our website, linked above.

A methodology we鈥檝e found to be especially helpful while manufacturing OEM fasteners is short-run production (AKA limited-run production). Before committing to large production runs, OEMs will often order a small batch of prototype fasteners in order to determine feasibility. This allows them to ensure everything works as intended before incurring the cost of a large production run.

If you鈥檙e an OEM or you鈥檙e running an OEM-specific test, we can help you too! We鈥檒l manufacture and supply the parts you need with confidence and accuracy. You hand us the blueprints, and we鈥檒l handle the rest. To get started working with us, give us a call at (800) 656-2658 or contact us online.