Alpine, UT — February 08, 2010   There’s strength in numbers—and Grabber’s numbers have impressed one of the industry’s leading steel truss and panel manufacturers. Aegis Fabricator Partners gave Grabber fasteners high reviews for achieving higher shear values than the current allowable values for Aegis fabrication products.

Grabber scores high when put to the test
The superior quality of Grabber fasteners was demonstrated in a battery of tests involving Aegis Ultra-Span® fabrication materials. Aegis Fabricator Partners tested Grabber self-drilling screws of different sizes in varying material thicknesses. In every case, the Grabber product showed significant increase of shear strength—from 17% to 39% more—compared to current shear measures allowed in Aegis Design.

The following tables detail the percentage improvement by mil thickness and fastener size.

Grabber #10-14 x ¾” self-drilling screws 0.035 0.046 0.057 0.073/.097
Grabber Shear Strength (lbs) 336 477 605 605
Generic Shear Strength (lbs) 243 419 513 519
Grabber % of Increase 38% 14% 18% 17%

Grabber #12-14 x ¾” self-drilling screws 0.035 0.046 0.057 0.073/.097
Grabber Shear Strength (lbs) 358 546 742 769
Generic Shear Strength (lbs) 258 450 540 656
Grabber % of Increase 39% 21% 37% 17%

Officially approved for Aegis-specific materials
Because of these impressive results, Aegis has approved 15 Grabber fastener products for use with the Aegis framing system. The results shown above include the sizes most popular with engineers; the approved Grabber list covers a range of sizes and types required for virtually any metal framing project. Aegis is encouraging fabricators to take advantage of these new, higher shear values by specifying Grabber brand screws.

From a manufacturer known for strength
Aegis is already recognized for the strength of its framing systems. The Ultra-Span® system offers the broadest line of sizes and gauges for a wide range of construction projects. The increased shear strength from Grabber simply adds to the confidence fabricators and engineers can have when specifying these two brands together. Grabber products will be available through the Aegis Design tool in February 2010; truss designers may select Grabber from the Fasteners menu, and the newly tested Grabber values will be included in v8.2.

Aegis Metal Framing is the leading provider of pre-fabricated cold-formed steel truss and panel systems. Aegis offers a complete line of cold formed steel framing including the UltraSpan® truss system. Aegis Metal Framing is a division of MiTek®, the world's leading provider of products and software for the pre-fabricated building components industry.