Lightweight fasteners and CNC machined components in titanium, aluminium and alloy steel for airframe structures, engine mounts, avionics enclosures and unmanned systems. Material selection driven by specific strength, fatigue performance and full mill traceability.
Aerospace Fastener Applications
An aircraft joint is specified for three things at once: the load it carries, the weight it adds, and how many cycles it survives. These six assemblies are where those three requirements pull hardest against each other, and where the fastener specification decides the outcome.
Airframe Structures and Panels
Fatigue life dominates. Every fastener is a stress concentration, and the joint must survive pressurisation cycles over the life of the airframe.
Thread rolling rather than cutting where fatigue strength is the priority, plus titanium and aluminium options matched to the structure.
Typical parts Rivets, Hi-Lok and lock-bolt equivalents, close tolerance bolts, shear pins
Engine Mounts and Pylon Brackets
Sustained vibration plus elevated temperature. Preload must survive thermal cycling and engine excitation without relaxing.
High temperature alloys for the hot zone, and locking methods that do not depend on adhesive which softens with heat.
Typical parts Machined brackets, A286 and 17-4PH fasteners, high temperature nuts and washers
Avionics and Equipment Enclosures
Weight and size. Boxes are built down to the gram, and the fastening scheme must not add measurable mass or foul the envelope.
Low profile heads, short thread engagement and aluminium fasteners where the joint allows it.
Typical parts Low profile socket screws, blind rivet nuts, machined enclosure frames and covers
Cabin Interior and Monument Structures
Fire, smoke and toxicity requirements, plus repeatable disassembly for maintenance access panels.
Fastener selections that support captive and quarter-turn designs, so panels come apart without loose hardware in the cabin.
Typical parts Captive screws, quarter turn fasteners, panel fasteners, interior brackets
UAV and Satellite Structures
Low volume, high value, and no room for a wrong part. Titanium is common and weight is tracked per joint.
Titanium machining with controlled surface integrity, plus anti-gall treatment so installation does not damage the thread.
Typical parts Titanium fasteners, machined mounts and adapters, custom spacers and inserts
Landing Gear and Actuation Systems
Safety critical, single load path, no tolerance for preload scatter. Documentation is as important as the part.
Full material certificate chain with lot traceability, and dimensional inspection reports for every shipment.
Typical parts High strength alloy fasteners, machined pins and bushings, actuator mounts
Why Aerospace Buyers Work with GUXIANG
We manufacture rather than trade, which means the same facility controls machining, threading, heat treatment and finishing. On a low volume aerospace part that matters, because traceability breaks show up exactly at the handover points between suppliers.
Specific strength selection
We select on strength per unit weight rather than on tensile strength alone, which is the only comparison that matters when every gram is tracked against the aircraft.
Fatigue aware threads
Thread rolling is used where fatigue strength is the priority, because the rolled grain flow follows the thread profile instead of being cut across it.
Anti-gall solutions
Titanium and austenitic stainless gall on assembly. We apply dry film lubricant or specify an alternative pairing so the thread survives installation.
Low volume without penalty
Aerospace quantities are small and the part is expensive. We quote against the job rather than pushing a minimum, and hold a single prototype to production without a tooling transfer.
Working to an aerospace drawing or a material specification?
Send the drawing, the material callout and the quantity. We will confirm manufacturability, identify any material or tolerance constraint we cannot meet, and return a written specification you can file with the part.
Aerospace Materials and Strength-to-Weight
Aerospace material selection is a specific strength question, not a strength question. Density is listed below for that reason: a stronger heavy alloy is often the wrong answer, and a lighter alloy at lower tensile strength is often the right one.
| Material | Density (g/cm³) | Typical tensile (MPa) | Key property | Typical aerospace use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ti-6Al-4V, grade 5 | 4.43 | 950 | High specific strength, corrosion resistant | Airframe fasteners, UAV structure |
| Titanium, CP grade 2 | 4.51 | 345 | Formable, very corrosion resistant | Non structural, ducting, fittings |
| Aluminium 7075-T6 | 2.81 | 572 | Highest strength aluminium, machinable | Enclosures, brackets, interior |
| Aluminium 2024-T3 | 2.78 | 470 | Good fatigue performance in sheet | Skin panels, shear structures |
| A286 iron nickel superalloy | 7.90 | 900 | Retains strength at temperature | Engine mounts, hot zone fasteners |
| 17-4PH stainless | 7.80 | 1100 | High strength, corrosion resistant | Actuator and landing gear parts |
| Alloy steel 4340 | 7.85 | 1800 | Very high strength when heat treated | Highest load mechanical joints |
| Inconel 718 | 8.19 | 1250 | Extreme temperature capability | Hot section and engine hardware |
Tensile and density figures are typical published values for the common condition and are for comparison only. Actual values must be taken from the material certificate for the specific heat lot supplied.
Surface Treatments for Aerospace Components
In aerospace the finish does three jobs: it protects the substrate, it controls friction during installation, and on aluminium it prepares the surface for the primer system. Cadmium is disappearing from the specification list, so most new designs specify an alternative.
| Finish | Primary function | Substrate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anodising, type II | Corrosion protection | Aluminium | Thin, conductive, good primer base for interiors |
| Anodising, type III hardcoat | Wear and corrosion | Aluminium | Hard surface, used where the part rubs or sees abrasion |
| Passivation | Corrosion protection | Stainless, titanium | Removes free iron without adding a coating layer |
| Dry film lubricant | Anti gall | Titanium, stainless | Molybdenum disulphide based, controls installation friction |
| Silver plating | Anti gall, anti seize | Steel, stainless | Works at high temperature, used where lubricant cannot survive |
| Aluminium pigmented coating | Corrosion protection | Steel fasteners | Sacrificial aluminium layer, common cadmium alternative |
| Zinc nickel | Corrosion protection | Steel fasteners | Hydrogen embrittlement resistance, controlled friction |
| Thermal spray | Wear resistance | Steel, alloys | Restores dimension and hardness on wear surfaces |
Not sure which finish your drawing actually needs?
Send the drawing or a photo of the existing part. We will identify the finish and substrate, flag anything that conflicts with current compliance requirements, and quote the specification that matches your intent.
Material Traceability and Documentation
Aerospace supply chains require the paper trail before they require the sample. Here is the documentation that can accompany an order, stated plainly so you can judge whether it meets your receiving inspection requirement.
- EN 10204 3.1 material certificate
- Mill certificate traceability by heat lot
- Dimensional inspection report
- Hardness and mechanical test data
- Coating thickness measurement
- Lot marking on parts and packaging
- Salt spray or corrosion test report
- Lubricant specification and batch record
- Retained sample held for future comparison
Traceability runs from the incoming mill certificate through machining, heat treatment and finishing, and is recorded by lot. Where your specification calls for a particular certificate format or an additional test, tell us in the inquiry so we can confirm it before production rather than after.
Aerospace Fastener FAQs
Answers to the questions aerospace engineers and procurement teams ask most often, with specific values rather than general assurances.
How do I choose between titanium and aluminium for a joint?
Compare specific strength, not tensile strength. Ti-6Al-4V carries roughly 950 MPa at 4.43 g/cm³, while 7075-T6 carries about 572 MPa at 2.81 g/cm³, so on strength per unit weight they are closer than the raw numbers suggest. Titanium is usually chosen where the joint also needs corrosion resistance or where the structure is aluminium and the fastener must not become the weak link. Aluminium is chosen where weight is critical and the joint is not heavily loaded. Also check the pairing, because titanium against aluminium in a wet environment is a galvanic problem that no fastener choice solves on its own.
Why do titanium fasteners gall, and how do I prevent it?
Titanium and austenitic stainless steels work harden at the surface and generate adhesive transfer under load, so the two threads can cold weld to each other during installation. The joint then seizes before it reaches the specified preload, and the damage is usually not visible until disassembly. The standard remedies are a dry film lubricant such as molybdenum disulphide, silver plating, or changing the pairing so one of the two materials is not gall prone. Controlled installation torque with a documented friction coefficient also helps, but it does not eliminate the mechanism.
Can I use titanium and aluminium fasteners in the same assembly?
Yes, but they should not be in electrical contact in a wet environment. Titanium sits well above aluminium in the galvanic series, so with an electrolyte present the aluminium becomes the anode and corrodes preferentially around the joint. The usual solutions are an insulating washer or bush, a sealant layer at the interface, or simply using an aluminium fastener in the aluminium structure. This is a design decision rather than a fastener selection decision, so it is worth raising with your structures team before the parts are ordered.
What does rolled thread actually buy me?
Fatigue strength. A cut thread severs the grain flow of the bar stock, while a rolled thread forces the grain to follow the thread profile. On the same material and the same nominal size, rolled threads show a meaningful improvement in fatigue life, which matters on any joint that sees cyclic loading. It costs less than moving up a material grade and it does not change the external dimensions of the part, so it is often the cheapest way to gain fatigue margin on an existing design.
What surface treatment should I specify for aluminium parts?
Anodising is the default for aluminium, in type II for general corrosion protection and as a primer base, or type III hardcoat where the surface will rub or abrade. Type II is thin and conductive, which matters if the part also carries a bonding or earthing function. Hardcoat adds a thicker, harder layer that is not conductive and slightly changes dimensions, so it should be specified with the tolerance stack in mind. Passivation is the equivalent treatment for stainless and titanium and does not add a coating layer.
Do you supply titanium fasteners, or only machine titanium parts?
Both. Standard titanium fasteners in common sizes are available, and custom titanium parts are machined in house. Titanium machines well but it galls, work hardens and conducts heat into the tool rather than away from it, so the tooling and the process have to be set up for it rather than borrowed from a steel job. Tell us the material condition you are working from, because a forged or rolled bar behaves differently from a casting.
Can you machine a custom bracket or mount to our drawing?
Yes. We accept drawings in STEP, DWG and PDF and return a manufacturing feasibility review covering critical dimensions, tolerance stack, material and any surface treatment. Our 3 axis machining holds ±0.03 mm and takes parts up to 400 × 300 × 200 mm. If your part needs 5 axis access, a tight tolerance on an internal feature, or a size beyond that envelope, we will tell you before quoting rather than after the sample fails inspection.
What documentation comes with aerospace parts?
An EN 10204 3.1 material certificate with heat lot traceability, a dimensional inspection report, and coating thickness measurement where a finish is applied. Hardness and mechanical test data, corrosion test reports and lubricant batch records are available on request. If your specification calls for a particular certificate format or an additional test, send the requirement with the drawing so we can confirm it is available before production starts.
What tolerances can you hold, and on what?
On CNC milled and turned parts we hold ±0.03 mm on controlled features. Tightness on any single feature depends on its length, its access and how it is measured, so a long thin feature will not hold the same tolerance as a short one. Cold headed and rolled parts follow the standard tolerance class for the process rather than the machining tolerance. Send the drawing with the critical features marked and we will come back with what we can hold and what would need a secondary operation.
Do you work with very low production quantities?
Yes. Single piece prototypes are accepted for machined parts, and aerospace quantities are often low enough that the job is quoted per part rather than against a minimum. Low volume does change the economics, so the unit cost will be higher than a repeat production run, but we will quote the job as it is rather than pushing a volume that does not exist. Samples ship by air freight.
Send a Drawing or Material Specification
One message is enough. A drawing number, a material callout, or a plain description of the joint is enough for us to start.
- Reply within 24 hours on working days
- Manufacturing feasibility review before quoting
- Material certificate and inspection report with supply
- Single piece prototypes accepted
- Samples shipped by air freight