How Does Kunshan Hong Yong Sheng Manufacture Reliable Self-Clinching Studs for Sheet Metal Parts?

On the production floor of Kunshan Hong Yong Sheng Precision Hardware Products Co., Ltd., a row of automatic lathes hums continuously as operators feed raw steel wire into machines that emerge, piece by piece, as finished self-clinching studs. A recent walkthrough of the workshop captured the full process: workers hand-checking freshly machined studs against a gauge, sorting finished parts by hand, and demonstrating how these small fasteners are permanently pressed into thin sheet metal parts. The footage offers a rare look at how a China-based fastener manufacturer combines manual quality checks with high-volume automated production to supply self-clinching studs used across electronics enclosures, automotive brackets, and industrial sheet metal assemblies worldwide.

What Self-Clinching Studs Do and Why They Matter

A self-clinching stud is a threaded fastener designed to be pressed permanently into thin, ductile sheet metal, creating a strong, reusable threaded connection without the need for welding, soldering, or additional hardware on the reverse side of the panel. Once installed, the knurled shank of the stud displaces the surrounding metal, which cold-flows into the fastener's serrations and locks it in place. This creates a mounting point capable of withstanding repeated assembly and disassembly, torque loads, and vibration without loosening or spinning in the panel.

Because sheet metal enclosures and brackets are rarely thick enough to support a standard tapped hole, self-clinching studs have become a standard solution across industries that rely on lightweight metal housings. The video footage highlights exactly this application, showing the finished studs alongside their labeled purpose: pressed into thin sheet metal and sheet metal parts, a use case that spans everything from server racks to appliance housings.

Behind the Scenes: How the Studs Are Machined

The manufacturing process begins on precision automatic lathes, where coiled steel wire is fed continuously into the machine and shaped into the stud's final geometry in a single automated cycle. This includes forming the knurled clinching shank, cutting the external or internal thread, and trimming the part to length. Kunshan Hong Yong Sheng's workshop relies on a mix of CNC lathes imported from Japan and high-precision automatic lathes with walking blades produced in Taiwan, equipment chosen specifically for the tight tolerances that clinching fasteners require.

Manual Inspection at the Machine

In the video, an operator can be seen picking individual studs directly from the machine's collection tray, wiping off cutting fluid, and manually checking the thread and shank against a caliper-style gauge. This step catches dimensional deviations before parts move further down the line, a practice that matters because even minor variation in the knurl diameter can affect how well a stud clinches into sheet metal of a given thickness.

Bulk Sorting and Cleaning

After machining, batches of studs are collected in mesh baskets, still coated in cutting oil from the lathe process. Workers sort through these batches by hand, checking for burrs, incomplete threads, or surface defects before the parts move to cleaning and, where required, plating. This manual sorting stage complements automated inspection equipment and is especially important for fasteners destined for appearance-critical or corrosion-sensitive applications.

Typical Applications Shown in the Footage

The video overlays a clear application summary, listing self-clinching studs as the fastener type and thin sheet metal and sheet metal parts as the target material. This is consistent with how the fastener is used across several industries that Kunshan Hong Yong Sheng regularly supplies.

This range mirrors the company's own stated focus areas, which include automotive parts, communications and digital equipment, and fitness equipment, all sectors where lightweight sheet metal assembly depends on reliable clinch fastening.

Why Manufacturing Capacity and Location Matter

The scale visible in the footage, rows of lathes running in parallel with dedicated operators at each station, reflects the company's broader production capability. Kunshan Hong Yong Sheng operates a 10,000-square-meter standard production workshop, a facility completed following a 30 million yuan investment, and runs more than 60 sets of auxiliary equipment alongside its core lathes. This infrastructure supports an annual production capacity of over 40 million fastener components, allowing the company to serve both large-volume standard orders and smaller custom runs from the same facility.

Location plays a practical role as well. The factory sits roughly 56 kilometers from Shanghai port and 66 kilometers from Taicang port, a positioning that simplifies logistics for the company's export-focused customer base across Europe, North America, and Japan. For buyers sourcing self-clinching studs or related sheet metal fasteners, proximity to major ports translates into shorter lead times between production and shipment.

Quality Practices That Support Consistent Clinching Performance

Self-clinching studs only perform as intended when their knurl geometry, hardness, and length are held within tight tolerances, since these factors directly determine how well the fastener seats into a given sheet metal thickness. The hand-inspection steps shown in the video are one layer of a broader quality system that includes more than 100 sets of testing instruments across the facility, used to verify dimensional accuracy, thread fit, and material properties before parts are packaged for shipment.

• Dimensional checks at the machine confirm shank diameter, knurl depth, and overall length immediately after cutting.
• Batch sorting by hand removes parts with visible burrs, thread damage, or surface defects before further processing.
• Instrument-based testing verifies hardness and thread specifications against customer drawings or industry standards.
• Final inspection confirms plating consistency and packaging accuracy prior to export.

A Workforce Built on Long-Term Experience

The operators seen individually checking studs by hand are representative of a workforce that the company describes as having significant industry tenure, with more than 70 percent of its over 50 employees holding more than ten years of relevant work experience. In precision fastener manufacturing, this kind of hands-on experience is difficult to replace with automation alone, particularly for catching subtle defects that automated sensors might miss, such as inconsistent knurl sharpness or minor discoloration that signals a machining issue.

This combination of experienced manual oversight and modern CNC equipment reflects the company's broader positioning: an 18-year-established manufacturer that pairs traditional craftsmanship with updated machinery to serve both standard fastener catalogs and fully custom, drawing-based orders for international clients.

What This Means for Buyers Sourcing Self-Clinching Studs

For procurement teams and design engineers evaluating suppliers, footage like this offers practical reassurance beyond a written specification sheet. Seeing the machining process, the manual inspection step, and the sorted output in mesh baskets ready for the next stage helps confirm that a claimed production capacity is backed by an actual working floor rather than a trading intermediary. It also illustrates that even in a highly automated lathe process, human inspection remains part of the workflow, an important detail for buyers who require tight tolerance control on clinching fasteners.

Kunshan Hong Yong Sheng positions this transparency as part of its broader value proposition: in-house tooling and lathe capacity, a large-scale workshop supporting both standard and non-standard fastener production, and a location built for efficient export logistics. Combined with its stated focus on customization for drawing-based orders, this production snapshot underscores how the company aims to serve OEM and ODM customers seeking self-clinching studs and related sheet metal fasteners at scale.