Thread Lubrication Options For Bolt And Nut Installation
When doing bolt and nut installation, one of the concerns you will have to address is how to ensure that they actually fit properly and that they end up lasting long. One of the ways of doing this is by lubricating them. This is something that many people take for granted, but which often turns out to be extremely important in the long run. When you are going to use bolts and nuts in large numbers, it’s important that you try to keep this consideration in mind.
There are a number of benefits associated with lubricating your stainless steel hex nuts and nitronic 50 hex head cap screws. Some of the most important of these include:
Creation of a barrier between the nut and screw: When you have a thin layer of lubricant between the nut and screw, it becomes easy for you to undo the fastener in future.
Heat transfer: In many cases, you will need the fastener assembly to also work as a heat transfer assembly. Using high quality lubrication can help with this. When you use a high quality lubricant, it can have the effect of dissipating heat away from the fastener assembly. This in turn means that the risk of heat damage to the fasteners will be limited.
Removal of debris: Depending on how you use them, lubricants can also act to remove debris and other particulate matter from the fasteners. This is very important particularly when you need a smooth fastening process.
Power transmission: When tightening the screws and bolts, ensuring that all the power is distributed evenly across the entire assembly is important. Using high quality lubricants will help with this.
Protection against corrosion: Depending on the types of lubricants you use, they can also reduce the risk of corrosion of the fasteners.
The main categories of lubricants
As you can see, there are many benefits of using different types of lubricants for your fastening needs. When thinking of using them, you need to be clear about which ones you will buy since this will affect their performance. Some of the options at your disposal include:
Liquid lubricants: These normally contain petroleum based substances. Examples of these include PTFE.
Non-liquid lubricants: These are also known as dry lubricants. They are usually used in scenarios where an oil based lubricant would not work as well as is required. Examples of these types of lubricants include grease, powders such as graphite, air cushions and other special products.
Self lubricating materials: In the recent past, there has been progress in the development of special materials that can introduce some degree of lubrication within a nut and bolt assembly. Using this technology can be a bit expensive, but is considered to be one of the best ways to ensure that nuts and bolts are properly lubricated.
In summary, there are a number of ways of ensuring that you end up lubricating your nuts and bolts, and the above are just a few of these. All in all, you should remember that this is an important aspect of fastener use.
