Discover Spida
Discover Spida
Universal Fixing System
Supporting studs, nuts, spacers, conduit strapping, spikes, cable trees, cable, embedded electrical circuits. Whatever your industry, our fixings can provide a lighter, stronger, cheaper solution.
Fixing The Future
Fasteners are ubiquitous. They hold together most man made structures. They enable manufacture, repair, maintenance and overhaul. Yet somehow, we still frequently rely on drilling damaging bolt holes or riveting through the very structures we are fixing. Until now. It all starts by recognising that drill-free fixing installation is the future. Modern adhesives, moulding, and welding, all offer us the opportunity to install fasteners without compromising structural integrity or increasing weight. So we designed the revolutionary Spida Fixings range to work perfectly with these technologies and finally give manufacturers the zero compromise fixing solution they have been waiting for. This is Spida. This is where fixing technology is headed.
THE STORY BEFORE SPIDA
Hole drilling
Many manufacturers have recognised that drilling holes for bolts and rivets compromises structural integrity. Drilling a 5mm hole in a 1000gsm sheet of carbon fibre will sever around 96,000 of the filaments that give it structural integrity. A similar situation is seen in metals, plastics, woods etc. To proceed down this route the only option is to specify thicker materials, increasing cost and weight.
Spida’s predecessors
Bonded, encapsulated and welded fixings sidestep this issue. However they must be designed to withstand the same forces as bolts and rivets. For many manufacturers this has led to them using larger fixings in greater quantities and adding additional layers to the structure (i.e. lamination) to dissipate stresses. This results in increased cost, weight and installation time. Without resorting to these measures we have seen many examples catastrophic fixing failure.
The fixing free approach
This has led some manufacturers (especially in the composites industry) to resort to building larger and larger, single piece structures with no fasteners.
So why use fasteners at all?...
Large single piece structures are expensive and time consuming to manufacture. This makes them hard to mass produce. Instead, fasteners allow manufacturers to assemble products from components.
Fasteners also simplify maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Without fasteners MRO typically involves cutting out old sections and grafting or welding new parts in. This increases cost, usually sacrifices weight or structural integrity and decreases the life of a product.
Enter Spida...
Designed from the ground up, Spida overcomes all these issues. It’s patented features give it a superior bond, inherent strength and high stress dissipation allowing manufacturers to easily build, maintain, repair and overhaul products made from components without compromising structural integrity or increasing cost, weight or installation time.
Who can use Spida?
You don’t have to be an expert to use Spida fixings. They are designed to be used by any manufacturer that is interested in improving performance of their products and saving time/money installing them. From tier 1 automotive manufacturers to local boat yards the list of applications is endless. Our range of studs, standoffs and bases are highly configurable so that you can get something that works for you.
Spida fixings work with a variety of adhesives, moulding and welding techniques to give you the perfect solution for any application.
Industries:
Automotive
Aerospace
Space
Marine
Sub-sea
UAV
Rail
Military
Machinery
Construction
Infrastructure
Wind & solar energy
Materials:
Carbon fibre and other composites
Metals
Woods
Plastics
Concrete
INSTALLATION
Bonding (works on any surface)
- Welding (metal and plastic welding)
- Press fit (into a pre moulded thermoplastic enclosure)
- Moulding
- Hand lay-up
- Open mould
- Pre-preg
- Hot press
- Vacuum tooling
- Injection moulding
- Concrete encapsulation
Bond Spida on with adhesive
Bonding a fixing using epoxy adhesive is one of the most common installation methods. You simply apply adhesive to the base and positions it in place. With Spida Fixings not only is it possible to use this method for holding accessory structures (e.g. wiring) in place; it is possible to use an epoxy bonded Spida Fixing to secure even the most structurally important components that must withstand high forces (e.g. seating).
Moulding Spida into the structure
An alternative installation method is to mould a Spida into a structure (using hand layup, vacuum moulding, injection moulding etc.). This saves manufacturing time and increases structural integrity. Our propitiatory AdMax surface treatment provides the perfect surface to achieve a high strength bond in your mould. And you can be sure that your Spida can resist torsional forces with our patented castellations on the base.
Weld Spida onto metal or plastic
Spida is constructed from high performance metals and constructed in a way that it can withstand the highest of loads passed through it even when welded.
Where does the
future lie?
Weight reduction
Spida fixings can save weight because they are stronger, lighter, adhere better, reduce excess adhesive and dissipate stress more effectively allowing manufacturers to reduce the number and size of fasteners required to hold their products together. Products such as vehicles can contain hundreds or thousands of fasteners so reducing the number and weight of them can lead to significant overall weight savings.
Enabling composites
The composites industry is set for a massive expansion over the next decade. Spida Fixings are a key enabler to this expansion. They will allow manufacturers to mass produce composite structures. This will save weight, manufacturing costs, increase structural integrity and longevity.
Spida fixings will also allow manufacturers to create novel composite components that are currently made out of metal.
Bringing down prices
Manufacturers will require less fixings for the same applications, waste less adhesive and laminate, save time on installation and make less rejects resulting in savings. Our prices are also highly competitive!
