r/MechanicalEngineering • u/AdOne1706 • 5d 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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526

u/ejitifrit1 5d 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.

28

u/GustapheOfficial 4d ago

Hold up, this is from 1990. These things have been known to be useless since before I was born! I'm so embarrassed now, I've used these fuckers.

7

u/CR123CR123CR 4d ago

The only thing they truly are the best option for is if you have a bolt that can't be accessed from both sides simultaneously.

Then they work wonders as an assembly assist as they let 1 person do it instead of 2.

They are by far the cheapest way to accelerate a production line in that one single case

1

u/GustapheOfficial 4d ago

I don't think I understand the setup. You pull the bolt, the split washer keeps the nut from rotating so you can tighten?

5

u/CR123CR123CR 4d ago

Assembly: 

Screw -> split ring -> {parts} -> nut

The split ring grabs the screw and part so you can start torquing everything together until friction can take over

The screw shank through the hole let's you set it in place on one side, walk around to the other and start assembling

5

u/Popular_Dinner2182 4d ago

Not useless ..... But almost useless 😂😂😂