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What are the differences between imported star-type retaining washers and domestic retaining washers?
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I. Material Selection
Imported Washers
To adapt to extreme working conditions, some imported products adopt high-end or special metal materials. In the aerospace field, aerospace-grade alloy steel is commonly used. This type of material features extremely high strength and hardness, along with strong fatigue resistance, enabling it to withstand severe vibrations and stress changes caused by the high-speed, high-load operation of aircraft engines. Additionally, some imported washers utilize super stainless steel. By precisely controlling the proportions of elements such as nickel and chromium, their corrosion resistance is significantly enhanced, allowing them to operate stably in harsh environments with high humidity and strong acids/alkalis (e.g., marine and chemical industries) and preventing loosening of connections due to washer failure from corrosion over the long term.
Domestic Washers
Domestic washers generally use common high-quality materials such as carbon steel and stainless steel. For daily fastening of ordinary industrial machinery (e.g., machine tools, conveyors) and connections in civil facilities, the material performance of domestic washers is usually sufficient to meet requirements. However, in special fields with extremely strict material performance demands—such as high temperatures (exceeding 500°C), high pressures (exceeding 10MPa), and strong radiation—domestic washers may experience issues like deformation and embrittlement during long-term use due to material performance limitations, compared to imported products. This affects the anti-loosening effect and connection stability.
II. Manufacturing Process
Imported Washers
Advanced foreign manufacturing enterprises have accumulated rich experience in the process sector. In the stamping process, high-precision molds and advanced stamping equipment are used to control the dimensional tolerance of washers within an extremely small range. Form and position tolerances such as flatness, perpendicularity, and roundness can reach micron-level precision, ensuring the overall flatness and symmetry of the washers. During the forming stage, precision CNC machining technology is employed to create clear contours and accurate dimensions for the tooth profile or anti-loosening structure. When matched with screws, this structure can closely fit the thread surface, increasing friction and effectively preventing nut loosening. In the heat treatment process, advanced temperature control and atmosphere control technologies are used to ensure uniform metallographic structure inside the washers, enhancing the comprehensive performance of the material. For surface treatment, high-end processes such as Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) and electroless plating are applied to improve the washer’s wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and surface hardness.
Domestic Washers
In recent years, domestic manufacturing processes have made significant progress. Most enterprises have mastered mature stamping and forming technologies, enabling them to produce products that meet general precision requirements. However, during large-scale production, the consistency and stability of domestic products still have room for improvement compared to imported ones, due to factors such as equipment precision, process stability, and variations in operator skill levels. In the application of complex, high-precision processes—such as manufacturing ultra-thin star-type retaining washers with ultra-precise tooth profiles—domestic enterprises may struggle to meet the standards of imported products in terms of machining precision and surface quality, due to the lack of advanced equipment and investment in process R&D. This results in poor fit between the washer and the screw, leading to weaker anti-loosening performance under high-vibration, high-stress working conditions.
III. Product Standards
Imported Washers
Many imported star-type retaining washers comply with advanced international standards, such as Germany’s DIN standards and the United States’ ASME standards. These standards impose strict and detailed regulations on the washer’s dimensional precision, mechanical properties (tensile strength, yield strength, hardness, etc.), corrosion resistance, and fatigue life. Their testing methods are also more scientific and comprehensive—for example, vibration and impact tests that simulate actual working conditions are used to ensure the product’s reliability in complex usage environments. Some well-known foreign enterprises have even developed internal enterprise standards that are higher than international standards to ensure the high-end quality and market competitiveness of their products.
Domestic Washers
Domestic washers are mainly produced in accordance with national standards (GB) or industry standards. These standards can ensure that products are suitable for most conventional application scenarios in terms of basic performance and quality requirements. However, compared to advanced international standards, there are gaps in some details and high-end performance requirements. For indicators such as the washer’s sealing performance and creep resistance under high-temperature and high-pressure environments—required by certain special industries—domestic standards may be less detailed or strict, posing challenges for domestic washers to enter high-end markets.
IV. Price Positioning
Imported Washers
Imported star-type retaining washers are generally more expensive than domestic ones, due to factors including import tariffs, long-distance transportation costs, brand premium accumulated over the long term, and the amortization of high upfront R&D and advanced equipment investment costs. For products of the same specification and quality grade, the price of imported washers may be 2 to 5 times that of domestic ones. In high-end manufacturing industries—such as semiconductor equipment manufacturing and high-end medical device production—enterprises are willing to pay higher prices for imported washers, given the extremely high requirements for product performance and quality stability, to ensure the high-precision operation and long-term stable use of equipment.
Domestic Washers
Benefiting from relatively low domestic raw material procurement costs, lower labor costs, and the convenience of local production and transportation, domestic washers have an advantage in cost control and are more affordably priced. For application scenarios that are cost-sensitive and have medium-to-low performance requirements—such as ordinary construction projects and the assembly of general household appliances—domestic washers occupy a large market share with their cost-effectiveness, helping enterprises effectively reduce production costs and improve economic efficiency.
V. Brand and Market Positioning
Imported Washers
Internationally renowned brands enjoy a high reputation in the global market. Relying on long-accumulated technological advantages, outstanding product quality, and a comprehensive service system, they are usually positioned in the high-end market. They mainly serve industries with strict requirements for product quality and performance, such as aerospace, high-end automobile manufacturing, and precision machinery processing. These industries have extremely high demands for the precision, reliability, and service life of star-type retaining washers. Through continuous innovation and technological upgrading, imported brands can accurately meet these needs and become the first choice for high-end customers.
Domestic Washers
There are numerous domestic brands with diversified market positioning. Some brands focus on the mid-to-low-end market, providing a large number of cost-effective products for ordinary industrial and civil fields through price advantages and responsive local services, to meet the fastening needs in daily production and life. In recent years, some domestic enterprises have also increased R&D investment, improved product quality and technical level, and gradually moved towards the high-end market. By cooperating with universities and research institutions to overcome technical difficulties, they have launched a series of high-end star-type retaining washers with performance close to that of imported products, and begun to compete with imported brands in the high-end market.
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JIALI FASTENER