Understanding The “Big Box” – It is important not fixate on the cost of any single component but rather on the entire fastened joint. In other words, it is all too common for the user to focus on a single component and ignore all that is going on with the entire fastened joint.
Take for example the simple act of attaching a cover over an aluminium housing. There are many approaches that can be taken to accomplish this, but perhaps the most traditional approach would be to tap threaded holes in the aluminium housing and use a simple machine screw to make the attachment. Now, “what if you changed those screws to thread rolling screws?” or “why not use a thread insert as reinforcement?”. A near sighted answer would be “no we can’t do that because it will cost more.”
