Everything About Hex Nuts
Nuts are holed metal fasteners that are always used with partner bolts to hold certain pieces together, usually of equipment. The holes of nuts are threaded to fit the ridges of their counterpart bolts perfectly and thus fasten the material securely.
Most nuts have six sides. This feature serves to facilitate the screwing process, although other nuts come in other forms as well.
Hex Nuts And Its Material Components
One of the most common types of nuts is the hex nut, which sports the same six-corner outer surface and threaded inner circle.
The hex nut can come in two forms: the standard one (which is commonly referred to as finished hex nut) and the heavy hex nut. The finished hex nut can go from 3/8 of an inch to as large as 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The heavy hex nut, meanwhile, are larger and thicker than the finished hex nut, with a maximum diameter of 2 3/4 inches. Both the finished hex nut and the heavy hex nut come in black and hot-dip galvanised finish. A standard dimension chart that lists all sizes (in diameters) of these nuts and their corresponding thickness (including their basic, minimum, and maximum values) as well as width across both corners and flats.
Nuts can be made of aluminum, brass, monel, nylon, silicon bronze, stainless steel, and steel. Their finish can either be black oxide, galvanised, hot dip galvanised, nylon, plain, waxed, yellow zinc, or zinc.
Compatibility Of Hex Nuts And Bolts
Each nut is graded according to its strength, which in turn determines its compatibility with bolts. It is crucial to use only compatible nuts and bolts to avoid any stripping incidence which could of course compromise the components being joined together or fastened by these small tools.
Grading can be according to low carbon steel, carbon steel that is quenched and tempered, and weathering steel (quenched and tempered as well). How would you know the grades of the hex nut? These grades are embedded in the nut itself through markings. It is crucial to check on these markings based on the nut and bolt compatibility chart to ensure that the right nut is paired with the right bolt.