Alumi-Flex™ Stainless Steel Drill Screws

Power Bolt and Tool believes that any construction product has to meet all of the needs of the industry for the job that it has been designed for. The product must meet the criteria for strength and durability. It must possess longevity and be esthetically attractive. Added to this, it must be cost effective and be able to enhance productivity. This is the criteria that the Alumi Flex-Stainless Steel Drill Screws has the ability to meet. You also may want to take a few moments to bring yourself up to speed with the latest technology by getting us to send you a FREE Elco Flex Technology® Kit.

When you want to make this Elco fastener the one to use

When you have an aluminum project that needs completing and there is any risk of corrosion developing due to a harsh environment, then selecting this particular construction fastener will be the right choice. It has been developed for those construction projects where when working with aluminum there is a concern about corrosion. It is a versatile Elco fastener that can be used widely in various aluminum type projects.

Not only is the strength, durability and integrity of any construction job important in the completed project, the overall appearance is too. With the Alumi flex Stainless Steel Drill Screws this is addressed with their superior performing anti-corrosion properties. These construction fasteners are comprised of 302 stainless steel and then coated with the Stalgard® Galvanic Barrier. When the job is one that is comprised of aluminum and you need a top performer, then this Elco fastener makes for the best choice. The quality materials that it is made of and the additional protective coating allows it to be compatible with dissimilar materials.

The flexibility in choice

All too often construction workers find a construction fastener that they are satisfied with but only to end up finding that they are extremely limited in choice of sizes. The Alumi Flex-Stainless Steel Drill Screws never poses this problem for the tradesmen. The choice between #10 to ¼” is available with lengths of ½” to 1 ½”. Point types are available in #3 and #4. The head style is a precision cut hex washer totally compatible with a Hex drive system.

Making the job easier

Any product that is designed to make the job easier is one that most construction workers want to rely on. These construction fasteners allow for this. With their detailed design it means precision work can be conducted. The durable 302 stainless steel stands up under application and the coating allows for easier attachments. While the materials and design lend themselves to the priority of being a screw that is going to stay in place and do its job for many years, they also enhance the productivity of the projects. When tradesmen don’t have to waste time on their fastening applications, it means they can move onto their next assignment that much quicker. Most construction jobs work on a ridged time line and when the right Elco fasteners can help them with this then it definitely makes them the optimum choice.

Money saving features

Usually when purchasing construction products, management has to focus on the actual cost of the particular item. Now with the Elco fasteners addressing all of the fastening needs of the industry more tradesmen are looking at these items as to what other ways they can contribute to the cost saving aspects of a project. When they are built like the Alumi Flex-Stainless Steel Drill Screws that are capable of increasing productivity and reducing waste then it makes them the logical choice for the construction purchaser.

Knowing that the Alumi Flex-Stainless Steel Drill Screws are going to be the right choice for your aluminum based project, you also need to know that they are going to be readily available. Power Bolt and Tool not only ensure that we offer the right products to the construction industry, we make it a priority to make sure they are available when you need them and in the quantities that are required as well. While we feel it is of the utmost importance to keep you informed as to what fasteners are available to you we also feel that some extra assistance in making the right choice of fastener may be beneficial. So please do take advantage of our FREE download guide, “Fastener Selection Guide”. Also while you are at it, why not fill out easy credit application that provides instant approval.

Alumi Flex is the ultimate screw for fastening aluminum. It was purposely created for aluminum fastening applications where delayed embrittlement failures could occur and cause trouble. It is a stainless steel drill screw that provides strength and corrosion resistance in a variety of aluminum applications. It is an Elco product and it is made in the U.S.A.

What Should You Know About the Drill Flex Structural Fastener?

There are many reasons why Alumi Flex screws have been successful in the market for many years. They resolve a very specific problem that contractors have been dealing with for many years. These fasteners have been tested, researched and approved by experienced and qualified engineering and construction organizations.

However, even though this screw has been on the market for a long time, contractors are still using the wrong fasteners for specific applications. The resulting failures of using the wrong fastener have resulted in investigations and very, very costly lawsuits, not to mention undesirable and uncalled for accidents. By creating this page, we are looking to educate you on Alumi Flex screws and clear up all the misconceptions so that you can select the right product for the right fastening application, thereby avoiding any unfavorable results.

What exactly is This Aluminum Fastening Screw?

The Alumi Flex aluminum fastening screw resolves multiple problems. The most important one is that this screw does not break from delayed embrittlement failures, no matter how extreme the application. They have been specifically designed and processed so as to ensure that they are immune to hydrogen-induced embrittlement failures. Each Elco fastener undergoes the unique Flex Technology® dual-hardening process, and this ensures that the fasteners offer contractors the optimal combination of ductility and hardness required for maximum performance in the field.

If you have ever restored buildings or houses, or have witnessed someone do such things, we are sure that you must have seen fasteners break, regardless of the material the screw is made of. The main reason this happens is due to the hydrogen-induced embrittlement failures. These make the screws weak and breakable.

What Makes the Alumi Flex Virtually Unbreakable?

In order to answer this, we first need to explain to you what Hydrogen-Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (HASCC) is. This phenomenon refers to a time-delayed failure that is aggravated or accelerated by hydrogen generated in the application. This mainly happens when the screw is associated with a dissimilar metal application.

For better explanation, let’s look at an example – once you have, attached a stainless steel fastener to, say, a window aluminum frame, a reaction called galvanic corrosion occurs. Galvanic corrosion can be thought of as an electro-chemical action in which one metal is changed into a chemical or simply eaten away. So, when two metals are in contact with each other, like the example mentioned, in the presence of some electrolyte (electrolyte here could be present in the form of rain, dew, snow, high humidity, ocean salt spray, or even air pollution), the less active metal (which in our case is the aluminum frame), will act as the cathode and attract electrons from the anode. The anode is the material which corrodes. So basically, the flow of electrons continues as long as the metals exist and the solution remains. It also keeps going as long as a conductive path connects the two metals. In simple words, the metal becomes really weak and just falls apart.

Now that you understand how the corrosion in this case works or happens, let’s look at why some stainless steel self-drilling fasteners should not be applied for some specific application. Most self-drilling fasteners, including the 410 stainless steel fasteners, are case hardened or similarly hardened, and while this does provide the necessary hardness for drilling and tapping, it leaves the screws vulnerable to HASCC due to their high surface hardness.
Alumi Flex, on the other hand, has an extra feature that makes it the ultimate aluminum fastening screw. After the fastener has been built, it gets coated with a Silver Stalgard® finish, and this provides superior corrosion resistance and enhanced galvanic compatibility. Thanks to the Stalgard® finish, there is no red rust or other base metal corrosion on significant surfaces even after 1000 hours of 5% natural salt spray exposure (ASTM B117).

The Stalgard® finish results in a strong, reliable structural fastener that can be used effectively in circumstances and applications where other self-drillers would fail.

Features of Alumi Flex Screws:

Self-drilling point
Diameters: #10 to ¼”
Lengths: ½” to 1-1/2”
Head Style: Hex washer
Drive System: Hex
Point Types: #3 and #4
Material: 302 Stainless Steel
Silver Stalgard® GB (Galvanic Barrier) coating

Benefits of Alumi Flex Screws:

They are virtually immune to delayed HASCC brittle failures that are common with other hardened fasteners.
They provide the same high resistance to hydrogen-assisted failure as a Grade 5 fastener.
Their precision self-drilling point ensures consistent, reliable drilling and tapping.
They eliminate separate drilling and tapping operations, and this saves you time and money.
The fasteners are corrosion resistant and much more superior to zinc- or cadmium-based finishes.
They provide incomparable galvanic compatibility in aluminum to aluminum applications.