ScrewThreadsandFasteners

Manyprecisionmachinedpartsareuselessuntiltheyareassembledintomechanicalcomponents.Theseassembliesrequirethe
useofmanydifferenttypesoffasteners.Inthisunityouwillbeintroducedtodifferenttypesoffastenersandtheirproperusage.
Oneofthemostfundamentaltasksofthemachinististheuseoffasteners.Threadedfastenerstakeonmanydifferentshapes
andforms,buttheyallhaveonethingincommon,theuseofathread.Althoughthreadsareusedforadjustmentpurposes,
measuringtoolapplications,andthetransmissionofpower,themainuseofathreadisasafasteningdevice.

ThreadTerminology
Someofthemorecommonlyusedthreadtermsare:
AngleofThreadTheangleofthethreadistheincludedanglebetweenthesidesofthethread(Figure1).Forexample,the
threadangleforUnifiedScrewThreadformsis60degrees.
MajorDiameterCommonlyknownastheoutsidediameter(Figure2).Onastraightscrewthread,themajordiameteristhe
largestdiameterofthethreadonthescrewornut.
MinorDiameterCommonlyknownastherootdiameter(Figure2).Onastraightscrewthread,theminordiameteristhe
smallestdiameterofthethreadonthescrewornut.
NumberofThreadsReferstothenumberofthreadsperinchoflength.

PitchThedistancefromagivenpointononethreadtoa
correspondingpointonthenextthread(Figure1).

Figure1Majorpartsofathread

Figure2Majorpartsofathread
LeadThedistanceascrewthreadadvancesinonerevolution.Theleadandthepitchofasingleleadthreadarethesame.On
doubleleadthreads,theleadistwicethepitch.Adoubleleadthreadhastwostartpoints.

ThreadForms
Thereareagreatnumberofthreadforms.Inthelaterunitsofthiscourse,youwillexaminetheseinmoredetailandyouwill
havetheopportunitytocutsomethreads.Asfarasfastenersareconcerned,wewillconcentrateontheunifiedscrewthread
form.TheunifiedthreadformisanattempttostandardizethreadformsintheUnitedStates,Canada,andGreatBritain.Unified
threadsaredividedintothefollowingseries:
UNCUnifiedNationalCoarse
UNFUnifiedNationalFine
UNSUnifiedNationalSpecial
Unifiedcoarseandunifiedfinerefertothenumberofthreadsperinchonfasteners.Aspecificdiameterofboltornutwillhave
aspecificnumberofthreadsperinchoflength.Forexample,ainchdiameterunifiednationalcoarseboltwillhave20

threadsperinchoflength.Thisboltwillbeidentifiedbythefollowingspecifications:

20UNC
Theisthemajordiameterand20referstothenumberofthreadsperinch.Ainchdiameterboltwithafinethreadwouldbe
identifiedbythefollowingspecifications:

28UNF
Theisthemajordiameterand28referstothenumberofthreadsperinch.
TheUnifiedSpecialSeriesisidentifiedthesameway.AinchdiameterUNSboltmayhave24or27threadsperinch.
YoumaywonderwhytherewouldbeaneedforUNCandUNFseriesthreads.Herearesomeprincipalusesofcoarsethreads
andfinethread.
COARSETHREADSERIES
Thisseries,UNC,istheonemostcommonlyusedinthemassproductionofbolts,screws,nutsandothergeneralfastening
applications.Itisalsousedforthreadingintolowertensilestrengthmaterials(bronze,brass,aluminum,andplastics)toobtain
thebestresistancetostrippingoftheinternalthread.Itisalsousedonquickassemblyordisassembly,orifcorrosionorslight
damageispossible.
FINETHREADSERIES
Thisseries,UNF,whenusedonexternalthreadshasagreatertensilestressareathancoarsethreadsofthesamesize.Thefine
serieswillresiststrippingoutbetterthancoarsethreadsinareaswheretheexternalandmatinginternalthreadsaresubjectedto
loadsequaltoorgreaterthanthecapacityofthescreworbolt.Finethreadsarealsousedwherethelengthofengagementis
limitedorwherewallthicknessdemandsafinepitch.

Figure3Unifiedscrewthreadchart.

CLASSESOFTHREADFITS
Somethreadapplicationscantolerateloosethreads,whileothersrequireatighterfit.Anexampleofthiswouldbetheheadof
anengine.Theheadofyourcarortruckengineishelddownbyathreadedfastenercalledastud.Astudisthreadedonboth
ends.Oneendisthreadedintotheengineblock.Theotherendusesanuttotightendownthecylinderhead.Whentheheadis
removed,youwantthestudtoremainintheengineblock.Thisendrequiresatighterfitthantheendofthestudacceptingthe
nut.Ifthefitonthenutistootight,thestudwillunscrewasthenutisremoved.
UnifiedthreadfitsareclassifiedaslA,2A,3A...or1B,2B,3B....TheAindicatesanexternalthread.TheBindicatesan
internalthread.Thenumbersindicatetheclassoffit.Thelowerthenumberthelooserthefitandviceversa.Class2fitsare

usedonthelargestpercentageofthreadedfasteners.Thetighterthefitthecloserthetoleranceofthesizesofthethreadand
hencethemoreexpensivetopurchase.Atypicalnotationofaunifiedthreadformwithfittolerancewouldbe:

28UNF2A
Inthisparticularcasetheclassoffitwouldbea2.ThesymbolAindicatesanexternalthread.

METRICTHREADS
Withtheimportationandexportationofgoods,especiallyintheautomotiveindustry,metricthreadshavebecometheprevalent
threadtypeonmanykindsofequipment.Themetricthreadformissimilartotheunifiedthreadforminthatitisbasedona60
degreethreadangle.Metricthreadseriestakethefollowingform:
M10X1.56g
WhereMisthemajordiameterinmillimetersandthe1.5isthepitch(distancefromonethreadtothenextthread)in1.5
millimeters,the6istheclassoffitandthe"g"symbolizestheexternalthread.Thisexternalthreadwouldhaveamajor
diameterof10millimeters,apitchof1.5millimeters,anda"medium"threadfit.
THREADFASTENERIDENTIFICATION
Ageneraldefinitionofaboltis"anexternallythreadedfastenerthatisinsertedthroughholesinanassembly."Aboltis
tightenedwithanut(figure4).Ascrewisanexternallythreadedfastenerthatisinsertedintoathreadedholeandistightened
byturningthehead(Figure4).

Figure4Ascrewisusedinathreadedhole,whileaboltisusedwithanut.
Fromthesegeneraldefinitionsaboltcanbecomeascreworthereversecanbetrue.Thisdependsonhowtheyareused.Bolts
andscrewsarethemostcommonofthreadedfasteners.
Thestrengthofanassemblyinlargepartdependsonthediameteroftheboltorthethreadengagementofthescrew.Thread
engagementisthedistanceascrewextendsintothethreadedhole.Theminimumthreadengagementshouldbeadistanceequal
tothediameterusedpreferablyyouwouldliketohave11/2timesthescrewdiameter,foritiseasiertoremoveabrokenstud
thanitistodrillandtapforalargerscrew.
Machineboltsaremadewithhexagonalorsquareheads.
Thebodydiameter,thediameteroftheunthreadedportionoftheboltbelowthehead,istypicallyslightlylargerthanthe
nominalorstandardsizeofthebolt.Aholethatistoacceptaboltmustbedrilledslightlylargerthanthebodydiameter.

MachineScrews
Themachinescrewisusedforgeneralassemblywork.Itismanufacturedinbothfineandcoarsethreadseriesandfittedwith
eitheraslottedorrecessedhead.
MachinescrewsizesvaryfromNo.0(0.060)toin(0.500)indiameter,andcomeinmanydifferentlengths(Figure5).

BOvalhead

CFlathead

ARoundhead

EPanhead
DFillisterhead
Figure5Machinescrews

Carriageboltsareusedtofastenwoodandmetalparts
together.Carriageboltshaveroundheadswithasquare
bodyunderthehead.Thesquarepartofthebolt,when
pulledintothewood,keepsitfromturningwhileyou
tightenthenut(Figure6).

Figure6Acarriagebolt

Capscrewsaremadewithavarietyof
differentheadshapesandareusedwhere
precisionboltsorscrewsareneeded.Cap
screwsaremanufacturedtoclosetolerences
andhaveafinishedappearance.Capscrews
canhaveflatheads,roundheads,fillister
heads,socketheads,andhexheads(Figure
7).
AFlat
Head

BRound
CSocket
Head
Head
Figure7Capscrews

Setscrewsareusedtolockpulleys,collars,orshaftsinplace(Figure8).
Socketheadsetscrewsusuallydisappearbelowthesurfaceofthepartto
befastened.Socketheadsetscrewsmayhavehexsocketheadsorspline
socketheads.
Figure8Knurledpoint
setscrew
Setscrewshaveseveraldifferentpoints(Figure9).Theflatheadsetscrewsareusedwhereminimalindentationtothepartis
neededandwherefrequentadjustmentsaremade.Theyarealsousedtoprovideajamscreweffectwhenasecondsetscrewis
addedtopreventvibratingloose.Adogpointsetscrewisusedtoholdacollartoashaft.Alignmentisalwaysmaintainedwith

adogpointsetscrewbecausetheshaftisdrilledwithaholeofthesamediameterasthedogpoint.Acuppointedsetscrewwill
giveaverygoodslipresistantconnection.

Cone

Dog
Flat
Figure9Pointsofsetscrews

Oval

BoltGradesandTorqueFactors
Insomeinstancesboltsneedtobefastenedwithjusttherightamountofpressure.Intheseinstancesthemanufacturerof
certainproductswillrecommendacertainclampingforcebeappliedtoaparticularfastener.Insufficienttorquewillusually
resultinpartsworkinglooseandcausingamalfunctionduetomisalignment.Overtightening,ontheotherhand,cancause
stressorwarpage,whichalsomightdisturbalignmentonassemblies.The"armstrong"methodoftighteningfastenerscanalso
causebrokencastings,brokenbolts,orstretchingofthefastener.
Steelhasexcellentelasticitytheability,likeaspringtostretchandthensnapbacktoitsoriginalshape.Anyfastenermust
reachitslimitsofstretchinginordertoexertclampingforce.Butalsolikeaspring,anoverstretchedfastenertakesonset,loses
itselasticity,andcannotsnapbacktoitsoriginalshape.Propertorquingwillpreventthiscondition.
Apoppingorsnappingsoundissometimesheardduringthefinaltighteningofafastener.Thispoppingsoundindicatesthatthe
fastenerisundergoingset.Whenanewfastenerisbeingusedandthepoppingoccurs,theremedyistobackitoffandretighten
tothepropertorguingspecifications.Whenanoldfastenerisbeingused,andyouhearthispopping,takethefastenerout,and
cleantheboltandtheinternalthreadsoutcompletely.Thesafer,moreeconomicalthingtodoistoreplacetheoldfastenerwith
anewone.
CapScrewGrades

Justascriticalaspropertorquingistheselectionoftherightgradeoffastenerfor
thejob.Thegradesofbolts,orcapscrewsinfigure10areidentifiedbythe
markingsontheheads.Thegradeindicatesthestrengthofthefastener.Usea
manufacturerschartasaguideforthepropertorqueoffasteners.

Grade2

Grade5

Grade8

Figure10Gradesoffasteners

Nuts
Nutsutilizeahexagonalorsquareheadandareusedwithboltswiththesameshapedhead.Theyareavailableindifferent
degreesoffinish.
REGULARisunmachined(exceptforthethreads).
REGULARSEMIFINISHEDismachinedonthebearingfacetoprovideastraight,flatsurfaceforthewasher.
HEAVYSEMIFINISHEDisthesameinfinishasthesemifinishedhowever,thebodyisthickerforgreaterstrength.
CASTELLATEDorSLOTTEDNUTShaveamilledslotacrosstheflatssotheycanbelockedinplaceusingacotterpinor
wire.
ACORNNUTSareusedwhenappearanceisofthemostimportanceorwhereprojectingthreadsmustbeprotected.

WINGNUTSareusedwhenfrequentadjustmentsorremovalarenecessary(Figure
11).

Figure11Wingnut

WASHERS
Washersareusedtodistributetheclampingpressureoveralargerareaandtopreventmarring.Theycanalsobeusedtoprovide
alargerbearingsurfaceforboltheadsandnuts.
LockWashers

Alockwasherisusedtopreventaboltornutfrom
looseningundervibration.Therearemanydifferenttypes
oflockwashers.Someofthemorecommonlock
washersarepicturedinFigure12.
AExternal

BInternal
Figure12Lockwashers

CSplit

NonthreadedFasteningDevices
Nonthreadedfastenersmakeupalargegroupoffasteningdevices.
DowelPins

DowelPinsaremadeoftreatedalloysteelandareusedinassemblieswherepartsmustbe
accuratelypositionedandheldinabsoluterelationtooneanother(Figure13).Theyassure
perfectalignmentandfacilitatequickerdisassemblyandassemblyofpartsinexact
relationships.
Figure13DowelPins.
AStraight,BTapered,C
Roll,DGrooved.
CotterPins

Cotterpinsarefittedintoholesthataredrilledcrosswiseinshaftstopreventparts
fromslippingorturningoff(Figure14).
Figure14CotterPin.
RetainingRings
Retainingringsarestampedrings,bothinternalandexternal,andareusedtokeeppartsfromslippingorslidingapart.While
mostretainingringsneedagroovetosealtheminposition,sometypesareselflockinganddonotrequiretheuseofarecess.
Keys
Akeyisasmallpieceofmetalimbeddedpartiallyintheshaftandpartiallyinthehubtopreventrotationofagearorpulleyon
ashaft.Herearesomedifferenttypesofkeys.

SQUAREKEYSThewidthisusuallyonefourthoftheshaftdiameter.Onehalfofthekeyisfittedintotheshaftandonehalf
isfittedintothehub(Figure16).
GIBHEADKEYExceptforthegibhead,thiskeyisidenticaltothesquarekey.Thegibheadprovideseasyremoval(Figure
16).
PRATT&WHITNEYKEYTheendsareroundedandthiskeyisfittedintoaslotontheshaftofthesameshape(Figure16).
WOODRUFFKEYAwoodruffkeyissemicircularinshapeandfitsintoakeyseatofthesameshape.Thetopofthekeyfits
intoakeywayinthematingpart(Figure16).

Figure16Keys.ASquare,BGibhead,CPratt&Whitney,DWoodruff.

Keyway

Keyseat

Figure17Akeywayisbroachedintothehubofthepart.Akeyseatismachinedintheshaft.
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