STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich., Dec. 5, 2007 – Acument® North America has introduced the Z-Form™ zero clearance bolt and sleeve assembly, a proprietary fastening system that eliminates leakage in gasketed joints, prevents lateral shift and slippage in high shear applications, and increases powertrain torque transmission.

The Z-Form shoulder expands a deformable steel sleeve during installation, blocking out all clearance between the bolt shoulder and the through hole in clamped components. The result is a formed joint that fills the radial void in the clearance hole – a zero tolerance fit.

Conventional bolted joints require hole clearance to accommodate machining tolerances, relying on clamp load, dowel pins, and locating sleeves to resist lateral shifts and slips in shear loaded joints. Z-Form fasteners eliminate the need for these additional processes.

“Z-Form fasteners can reduce component weight and process costs by using fewer and smaller sizes than required for traditional bolted joints,” said Martin Schnurr, vice president and general manager of Acument North America. “Their strength and durability were evidenced in validation tests where they performed 18 times the number of reversing cycles than a widely used bolt of similar size.”

Z-Form fastener applications include automotive and truck ring gears, floating axle hubs, brake and suspension components, flex plates, flywheels, bearing caps, cylinder heads, and other bolted joints that require a high torque transfer fastener.

Z-Form bolt and sleeve assemblies are available in standard sizes M6 through M12.

Acument North America is headquartered in Sterling Heights, Mich., and operates 16 production facilities and three distribution centers in the U. S., Canada and Mexico. For more information about Z-Form fasteners and other Acument North America products and services, call (800) 544-8679. Further information, catalogs and spec sheets are available for downloading at the company’s website: acument.com/northamerica/index.asp.

Acument North America is a business unit of Acument Global Technologies, Inc., of Troy, Mich., a leading provider of value-based fastening solutions, engineered fastening systems, state-of-the-art fastening installation technology, and inventory management and application engineering services. With about 8,500 employees in 16 countries, Acument supplies mechanical fastening products, systems and services to customers in more than 150 countries.