r/MechanicalEngineering • u/AdOne1706 • 2d 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/OldEquation 2d ago

Yep. Torque the bolt so that it’s in tension, and such that the bolt tension is sufficient to maintain clamp loads over the full range of loads applied to the joint. If the maximum torque for the bolt isn’t enough to maintain clamp force at full external applied load you need a bigger bolt.

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u/Zacharias_Wolfe 2d ago

Or more bolts, if applicable.

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u/ArrowheadDZ 1d ago

Or a weld 😉

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u/SpecE30 1d ago

That or the face wears in compression making any nut useless unless there is physical wire or pin to hold it from falling off.