Fasteners prevent nuts and bolts from loosening, with some using a special thread or chemical compound. Loose bolts can cause catastrophic failure, and traditional locking methods can fail over time. Locknuts, including the standard steel and nylon varieties, are the most common. Other fasteners include those with an oblong piece of metal or a built-in washer.
Fasteners are typically nuts that lock onto the threads of a bolt when tightened and prevent them from loosening. Nuts often use a special thread that engages a bolt, but some nuts use a system that incorporates an additional piece that wedges against an object and keeps the nut from turning until it’s removed. Some types of locking fasteners use a chemical compound within the nut threads that is heated by the friction of tightening the assembly. This heat activates the chemical, creating a glue that bonds the nut to the bolt.
The problem with nuts and bolts is that they usually loosen after being installed. Movement in the materials they are installed in will cause the nut to backslide over time. A loose bolt assembly can cause catastrophic failure in whatever it is installed on. Loose bolts can flex and break, allowing them to fall into moving parts where they break or jam a machine and cause binding or binding. Once a bolt breaks, it can allow a part it’s held in to simply fall out of place and become damaged or lost.
Locking fasteners in place with safety wire is a time-consuming method of ensuring a bolt stays tight and in place. This is a procedure that works well, but it is difficult to remove the assembly properly. Locking fasteners in place using spring washers has been proven to fail over time, and some studies show that the spring washer itself tends to loosen the nut when severe vibration is present. Modern fasteners prevent this from happening and maintain the integrity of the bolt.
Locknuts are the most common of fasteners and perhaps the easiest to use. A locknut comes in two varieties, the standard steel locknut which uses a row of distorted threads that cause the nut to grip when tightened, and the nylon locknut commonly referred to as a Nylock nut. This nut uses a nylon insert at the top of the nut which is smaller than the threads of the bolt, this nylon device is forced onto the bolt as the nut is tightened causing the nut to snap into place.
Some fasteners use an oblong piece of metal that fits into the hex shape of the nut and is wedged against the side of the materials being bolted together. This type of fastener is best suited for custom automotive exhaust and header applications. Perhaps the simplest form of fastener is a nut with a built-in washer. The washer has small teeth machined into it that cut into the material it is clamped against, thus preventing it from backing out.
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