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Home > Services > Quality, Engineering & Lab Services > Fastenal Engineering > Other Resources > Engineering Frequently Asked Questions
Torque
What torque do I need for a particular fastener?
Torque guides can be found on the Fastenal Engineering & Design Support webpage within the Other Resources category. If your particular fastener is
not represented in these torque guides, contact the Fastenal Engineering & Design Support team.
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I have a good bolt and a good nut/tapped hole but I still have assembly problems - why?
It is impossible to manufacture perfect threads. To ensure functionality, tolerances and allowances are given to mating threads. If both the internal and
external threads meet their required tolerances and allowances, you should determine the length of thread engagement. Often times, cumulative lead
error or high frictional coefficients can cause assembly problems. Ensuring that the nominal length of thread engagement (1 to 1.5 diameters) is not
significantly exceeded can help prevent assembly problems. Lubrication is encouraged in any assembly to achieve more consistent and accurate
preloads.
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Stainless Steel
Why are some stainless steel fasteners magnetic?
Stainless parts that are cold worked (plastically deformed below the recrystallization temperature) will pick up some magnetism. This is not an indication
of the chemical composition of the part. It is merely an unavoidable consequence of the cold working process these bolts go through during their
manufacturing. Examples of cold working processes include drawing down of the bolt's body to the pitch diameter for thread rolling, the thread rolling
itself, and forming of the head. Some parts may be more magnetic than others, but every part that has been cold headed or had threads rolled will have
some degree of magnetic permeability. You can read more about this by viewing the article "Magnetism in Stainless Steel Fasteners."
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What is the difference between 18-8 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel?
The 316 stainless steels have 2-3% molybdenum added while the 18-8 series stainless steels do not. While it has comparable strength characteristics,
316 and 316L stainless steel have a higher degree of corrosion resistance due to the addition of the element molybdenum.
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My customer is asking for 304 stainless steel. Is this the same as 18-8 stainless steel?
18-8 stainless steel contains approximately 18% chromium and 8% nickel. 304 does fall into this category, but so do a number of other stainless steel
grades such as 302, 302HQ, 303, 304L, and XM7. Generally, our hex cap screws meet 304 s/s. The other stainless steel products such as socket heads,
machine screws, nuts, etc., are likely not to be 304. They are typically 302HQ, which has better properties for cold heading.
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Mechanical Properties
Do Grade 12 bolts exist?
No SAE Grade 12 exists. On the metric side, there are no grades, only property classes. The highest strength property class is 12.9 which requires a
tensile strength of approximately 1200 MPa and a yield strength of about 1080 MPa.
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What's the difference between metric property classes and inch-series grades?
In the metric system, the strengths of different fasteners are broken down into property classes and each class uses the same numbering convention - a
combination of two numbers X.Y. The first number represents the approximate tensile strength multiplied by 100 in metric units of MPa. The number
following the decimal represents the percentage to multiply the tensile strength by to find the approximate yield strength. For example, for property
class 12.9, the approximate tensile strength is 1200 MPa and the yield strength is approximately 90% of this value, or 0.9*1200 = 1080 MPa. The SAE
grade numbers don't employ a similar convention.
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Structural Bolts
What torque recommendations can I use for A325 and A490 bolts?
The structural bolting industry does not recognize torque from a formula as being accurate enough to be used for installation purposes. The reason is
that they require A325 and A490 bolts to be installed at 70% of their minimum tensile strength. There is no way that this can be accomplished with any
degree of certainty when using calculated torque values.
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What does the X or N in A325X or A325N mean? Is this bolt different than the standard A325 bolt?
The -X and -N designations refer to the usage of the bolt, not a different type of A325 bolt. The X designation means that the threads are excluded from
the shear plane while the N designation means that the threads are included in the shear plane. The difference is that by having the threads in the shear
plane, the shear capacity of the bolt is reduced. The A325 bolt itself doesn't change.
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What kinds of locking nuts or locking washers can be used with structural bolts?
The installation methods that are required to be used when installing structural bolts (A325 and A490) would ensure the bolts are installed to a minimum
of 70% of the minimum tensile strength. This would provide greater resistance to vibration that any of the standard lock nuts and lock washers. ASTM
A325 and A490 only allow the use of ASTM F436 flat washers or ASTM F959 DTI washers.
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Miscellaneous
What materials are acceptable for use in ACQ lumber?
18-8 or 316 stainless steel would be perfectly fine without a coating in ACQ lumber. Your other choices would be an extremely durable barrier type
coating on a carbon steel fastener. Any of the sacrificial coatings including zinc (electroplated or HDG) are designed to give themselves up to protect the
base metal. Unfortunately the chemical reaction between the wood and the zinc means the zinc coated parts won't last too long. There are many dipspin coatings that are acceptable to use in ACQ treated lumber that can be applied to a carbon steel fastener if stainless steel is not a viable option.
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What is the difference between a hex bolt and a hex cap screw?
A hex cap screw has tighter tolerances on the body dimensions and features a chamfered end and a washer face under the bolt head. A hex cap screw is
often called a finished hex bolt. Hex bolts have a flat end and lack the washer face under the head.
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What types of salt spray ratings do Hot Dip Galvanized coatings get?
The hot dip galvanized coating does not perform well in a salt-spray test chamber. In order for the zinc in the hot-dip galvanizing to perform as it was
designed, it needs to develop a patina layer composed of zinc carbonate. This layer is very stable and non-reactive which gives the galvanizing its
desired properties, but in order to form this patina, the zinc must go through wetting and drying cycles such as those that would be encountered in a
real world environment. In an ASTM B117 salt spray chamber, the environment is kept continuously wet which basically washes off the necessary
corrosion resistant products that would otherwise be produced naturally by the galvanizing. Therefore, the hot dip galvanizing appears to have a poor
salt spray corrosion resistance, but this type of QC testing isn't really applicable for hot dip galvanized coatings.
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