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Castle nuts have slots on top to secure them in place with a wrench through a pre-drilled hole. They prevent nuts from backing off bolts and are used for locking down machinery settings. Quick release clips can be used instead of cotter pin keys. Castle nuts are a time-tested fastener found on ancient Roman chariots and modern jet aircraft.
A castle nut is a fastener with several slots cut into the top resembling the traditional tops of castle towers. The slots provide a method of securing the nut in place by installing a wrench through a pre-drilled hole in the bolt and locking it through the castellations in the nut. Commonly found on automobile drive shafts and spindles, the castle nut prevents the nut from backing off the bolt or stud and allows the components to separate. While you can use common tools to install and remove a castle nut, extra care must be taken to avoid breaking the castellations as they leave the threaded area of the bolt and become brittle.
In many manufacturing operations, machinery is used that requires a particular setting to be locked down. Using a castle nut is a very simple method of ensuring that the adjustment or setting stays in place. Functioning much like the safety harness on a nut or bolt, the castle nut allows for quick changes and adjustments without requiring the safety wire to be cut and re-attached. A wrench placed through a hole in the threaded stud or bolt, running through the castellations of the nut, and bent, will keep the nut from turning. When necessary, removing the cotter pin wrench will allow the castle nut to be fully adjusted or removed.
In some production situations where castle nut adjustment occurs frequently, a quick release clip will be used to lock the nut in place instead of a linchpin wrench. The clip is easily pushed in and out of the nut’s locking notches and saves time on the effort required to straighten the cotter pin key, pull it out of the nut, and then reinsert and bend it once the adjustment has been made. Cotter pin keys are also prone to breaking if bent and straightened enough times. A small piece of broken key can also potentially damage a machine if it were to fall into the machine.
Variations of the castle nut have been found on ancient Roman chariots and are used on jet aircraft, making them a time-tested fastener. In an age where locknuts come in many different forms and thread-locking liquids take up most of the shelf space at the corner hardware store, the castle nut remains a key element when it comes to locking a fastener. fixing in place.
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