Fastener Surprises: What a New MSTU Lab Is Exploring
In Magnitogorsk, a youth laboratory for engineering advanced fastener-production technologies has opened at the local technical university following a major renovation.
Grant-Funded Progress
The new laboratory is designed as a testbed for research in digital materials engineering and the development of digital twins – virtual replicas of real-world processes and products. Its mission is to become a focal point for students, postgraduates, and early-career engineers who will work on applied technological solutions tailored to the needs of local manufacturing plants. Particularly close collaboration is planned with MMK-METIZ.
“At first, it seemed that based on our prior experience, everything would be relatively straightforward. But organizing a scientific laboratory turned out to be a far more complex task. Literally everything requires oversight – from flooring and tiles in the workspace to microscope parameters, logistics, procurement, and much more. In the end, though, it all came together,” says Dmitry Konstantinov, director of the newly established Laboratory for Engineering Advanced Fastener Production Technologies at Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University.
Funding for the project was secured through a competitive innovation grant program.
“From the Tip of a Screw, Like Walking the Ural Mountains”
The laboratory is equipped to support the entire workflow, from early-stage concepts to fully developed digital twins. The process begins with sample preparation using cutting, grinding, and polishing machines. The next step involves what the team calls “digital eyes” – a 3D scanner, non-contact measurement systems, and a range of microscopes, including a unique optical microscope with AI-assisted analysis and a high-end electron microscope. The chain is completed by a heating stage that allows researchers to study material behavior under conditions that replicate real industrial processes.
“By using a scanning electron microscope, we can achieve magnification levels 250 times higher than the maximum of optical systems. The effective resolution is five nanometers, meaning you can examine the tip of a screw as if you were walking through the Ural Mountains. A comparable device that our university purchased 10 to 15 years ago was about three times larger. Today, this compact unit weighs just 70 kilograms and runs from a standard power outlet,” the lab’s director explains.
The laboratory is conceived as a research center firmly oriented toward real-sector needs and, critically, toward import substitution. “Our first projects, already launched under the laboratory’s new status, focus on optimizing existing technology for producing galvanized steel wire used in the cores of high-voltage power lines, as well as developing a new technology for manufacturing welding wire. Both projects are strategically important not only for the plant but for related industries as well. Foreign welding wire suppliers exited the Russian market in 2022, yet this material is essential for the gas sector, particularly for pipeline welding,” Konstantinov says.
A Beta Test for Metallurgy
In 2024, Chelyabinsk hosted a major regional conference dedicated to digitalization and new industrial technologies. That same year saw a regional stage of the “Industry Code” conference, which focused on robotics and automation. Together, these events signal growing professional interest in technological modernization across the region, creating favorable conditions for initiatives such as the new laboratory.
At Nosov MSTU itself, the past year also saw the launch of a digital materials engineering laboratory, alongside the announcement of a regional grant competition specifically aimed at establishing youth scientific laboratories. The success of the fastener-production lab could become a model for similar initiatives at other universities in the Chelyabinsk region, potentially focused on areas such as microelectronics or electromechanics.
Moving Beyond the Framework
The creation of a youth laboratory represents a strategic step toward strengthening the scientific and technological foundation of the Chelyabinsk region in critical fields such as materials science, digital engineering, and advanced manufacturing methods. One of the project’s most important social functions is the establishment of an effective mechanism for collaboration between universities and industrial enterprises, narrowing the gap between theory and practice.
If successful, the model could be replicated across related sectors of regional mechanical engineering, enhancing product competitiveness, including in export markets.
In the near term, the laboratory is expected to evolve into a fully active research platform. By 2030, the results of its work may move beyond experimental development and begin to see practical application in fastener-production technologies.
