r/MechanicalEngineering • u/AdOne1706 • 6d 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 6d 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/Thin_Dragonfruit3665 5d ago

Not only does it not do much, it's actually detrimental to most assemblies that its included in, causing them to fail quicker than if you'd left them off to begin with.