Hanging by a Thread
How the Federal Group helped Jan Fan solve a critical safety issue by finding the right thread—and a better part solution.
How Reverse-Engineering a Perfect Mating Part For Hanging Industrial Fans Solved a Critical Safety Issue
When it comes to our manufacturing clients, The Federal Group builds relationships for the long term. We’ve developed a close partnership over the years making industrial fan parts for Jan Fan, a small family company that’s been in the industrial fan manufacturing business for over seven decades.
We pride ourselves on best-in-class Quality Assistance and Quality Control, so when Jan Fan came to us with an internal threading issue, we were committed to engineering a fast and effective solution.
And we did—even if the process involved as many peaks and valleys as a threaded coupler.
The Challenge: Keep things from hitting the fan.
Used extensively in automotive assembly facilities to circulate air and keep workers cool, these heavy-duty fans were designed to attach to weighted stands, from ceilings, and onto walls. If a fitting was loose, a fan could potentially fall and injure the workers below (or worse)—creating a significant liability issue and a public relations nightmare.
Jan Fan approached us as the fabricated fan hanger parts were failing to pass inspection—the threads weren’t mating properly, resulting in an insecure fit. While the parts were rejected before customer distribution and installation, the failed part was wreaking havoc on the shipping dates, order resolution, and the bottom line.
The Analysis: An Out-of-the-Box Problem
Upon analysis by our experienced engineers, we discovered the unthreaded couplers produced by the supplier were not matching perfectly with the pipe thread on the fabricated brackets being used by Jan Fan.
We asked Jan Fan to provide the exact specs for their coupler, including the precise tolerances and the thread. They couldn’t. We later learned that the company had been purchasing 1.5-inch conduit couplers from a big-box home improvement store and welding them to fabricated brackets during manufacture in their own facility—while accessible, this solution proved to be both costly and unpredictable.
Box-store pipe fittings are often made by different vendors, and there can be a huge difference in the way the threads fit onto a custom mating part.
We knew we needed to design our own standard pattern to follow moving forward.
Engineering a Solution: Making a Mold
Engineering a threaded part is more science than art. It’s geometry, mechanical engineering, and product conformity all rolled into one. Achieving the correct pitch, valley, dimensions, and spacing is difficult, especially for custom threads. To ensure accurate measurements, our on-site engineer made a wax mold of a provided standard coupler thread, providing an inside look into what was happening.
By inspecting the wax mold, we discovered that Jan Fan’s supplier had been taking shortcuts and not cutting the threads correctly.
With a new, corrected wax mold in hand, we collaborated with tool-making vendor Dimensional Measurement to create a mold of the internal thread. Dimensional Measure duplicated that thread exactly on a custom tap.
By casting the conforming threads, we determined the necessary threading specifications and then reverse-engineered them to ensure a confident and secure fit.
Example mold image courtesy of Plastiform.
This example is just one way the Federal Group can reverse engineer your critical components. For more information on how we can engineer a better part for your production, click here.
The Outcome: A Stronger Partnership
For our longtime partner Jan Fan, we created the perfect mating part to fit our custom fan holders.
In addition, this process helped us identify the key criteria we use to test and evaluate all supply partners, ensuring that every partnership—and every custom fastener, custom mated part, and metal fabrication project—meets our high standards of care when it comes to fit, form, and function.
Client Testimonials
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Jonathon Lanham2025-09-26Mike Allen and The Federal Group have been an absolute pleasure to work with. From the first day we reached out to them they responded punctually and professionally and helped us with every step of the process. We came to them with a budget conscious challenge and they delivered above and beyond a fitting and accurate solution. A quality finished part that has improved the overall quality of our product, and that's what really counts. Thank you to The Federal Group!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Sean Brockhouse2025-04-20Sandor Holzer has gone above and beyond helping us to get another part ramped up for production, creative getting samples ahead of schedule so we could meet tight timelines. Outstanding customer service!!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Melissa Quiroz2024-08-09Good company, knowledgeable staff, product was exactly what i asked for. Got me out of a jam!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Alex Armstrong2023-12-15Steve was great to work with and was always available when needed.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Jon Ramsey2023-10-07Mike at TFG was tenative to our supply needs and an immense help! Took on a project that was quite large and daunting, only to be resilient through the task challenges. In conclusion, everything was completed successfully and a huge success. Would recommend and I plan to use them for future projects. Thanks again Mike and TFG team.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Nic Robinson2023-10-05Steve Bogdanovich has been critical to our team meeting deadlines with a quality product. The communication and customer service is top notch. We know we can rely on Steve and The Federal Group team to get us a quality product and in a timely manner. We've sent all of our casted parts through them because we know we will get the best service, and they keep us informed through every step in the process.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Sean Connelly2023-06-21The Federal Group was great to work with. Steve was very professional and diligent in providing good advice/feedback as well as following up with me. Look forward to working with them in the future as well!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Sher Stahl2020-07-10The Federal Group is a top-notch supplier of ours. They take quality very seriously and strive to ensure we have exactly what we want and when we need it. Communication is excellent. Service is excellent. I have worked with this supplier directly for better than 7 years now, and still considered one of my best suppliers. We've recently expanded our product line with this company and are excited to partner on this line and on future projects. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have such a responsive company, and rep, Richard, to work with. I highly recommend this supplier.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.Marshall2020-06-30Excellent customer service and products!
