Intellifast GmbH is a leading name in the ultrasonic load measurement business, launching on to the market in 1997 with a focus on the world biggest bolt consumers – the car industry. Here, Managing Director Frank Scheuch talks to PES about the company, its expansion into the wind industry, and his vision for its future.Intellifast was founded as PFW Technologies in 2002.
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The company changed its name to Intellifast when it acquired the Intelligent Fastener trademark in 2006 and when its sister company, PFW GmbH changed its name to PFW Aerospace AG.
The business was started with the acquisition of an ultrasonic load measurement technology, invented in 1993 and launching into the market in 1997 with a focus on the world biggest bolt consumers – the automobile industry.
the central technology is a thin film permanently mounted transducer. Using high- vacuum technology, the thin film transducer is deposited on to the bolt. The materials used are immune to the elements and are inert to their environment. To read the bolt load, the transducers are connected to an ultrasonic measurement device. The measurement of the clamp load is accurate to +/- 3 %.
The patented digifast barcode technology provides ultrasonic fastener information on each bolt in addition to the serial number. The technology can store assembly relevant data, such as target load, in addition to other customer specific information, e.g. the bolt supplier. Intellifast uses an open source 20-digit 2d code.
