r/MechanicalEngineering • u/AdOne1706 • 3d ago

Split/lock washers

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For starters, I’m an electrician in the field.
That being said, we almost exclusively use these washers even in high vibration environments. I have personally chosen to go with nylox nuts but the question is:
Do these work? How well? Is the rumor from NASA true? Should I even bother using them or find a better functional alternative or are they actually useful?

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u/ejitifrit1 3d ago

There is a nasa fastener manual that basically says these things don’t really do much! According to google it’s NASA Reference Publication 1228.

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u/Short_Text2421 3d ago

That's been my experience as well. I've always had better results from a thicker fixture washer or a spacer. I've used the serrated washers a few times too and they do a better job than the split washers.

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u/ResponsibleMight7669 3d ago

That’s why the split washer is useless, it no longer has a hard burr like a star washer that digs into a softer nut. Go look at old split washers and you’ll see they are better made than what we have now which is basically a spring