THREADED FASTENERS
1. HISTORY OF THREADED FASTENERS
• No standardization of threads until 1841, therefore no interchanging of parts.
• Sir Joseph Whitworth attempted to create the first standardized form of
threads in 1841 but was used in England and not in the United States.
• The first attempt to standardize threads in the United States was made in
1864 by creating the American National Thread.
• The Unified thread was created as a joint standard of the United States,
Canada and the Great Britain in 1948 to allow interchangeability.
• The Metric thread had its own separate development mostly through ISO.
• Since 1983, Metric threads are also being used by the ANSI.
2. THREAD TERMS
Thread Angle
Depth of thread
Pitch
Nominal dia.
Major dia.
Minor dia.
Major dia.
Crest Root
External Thread Internal Thread
i. External Thread
A thread on the external surface of a cylinder (screw).
ii. Internal Thread
A thread on the internal surface of a cylinder (nut).
iii. Major Diameter
The largest diameter of a screw thread. Also referred to as Nominal diameter.
Threaded fasteners are standardized according to their Nominal diameters.
iv. Minor Diameter
The smallest diameter of a screw thread. Also referred to as Root diameter.
v. Depth of Thread
The distance between crest and root measured normal to the axis.
vi. Pitch
The distance between corresponding points on adjacent thread forms measured
parallel to the axis.
vii. Lead
The axial advance of a thread for one revolution.
viii. Threads per inch
The reciprocal of Pitch. This value is specified to govern the size of the thread
form.
ix. Right-hand thread
A thread which screws on with a clockwise rotation. Threads are always right-
handed unless otherwise specified.
x. Left-hand thread
A thread which screws on with an anticlockwise rotation. Must be designated
as LH.
xi. Single start thread
A thread starting from a single point on the cylinder
xii. Multiple start thread
A thread starting from more than one point on the cylinder. The lead is product
of pitch and number of starts.
L
p L p L p
Single Start Thread Double Start Thread Triple Start Thread
Right-hand Thread Left-hand Thread
3. THREAD FORMS
Two types of basic thread forms, i.e., V-type and Square-type.
a. V-type
• Used for fastening
• Provides frictional resistance to automatic slackening
• Stronger in structure.
b. Square-type
• Used for load transmission
• No frictional resistance to automatic slackening
• Weaker in strucure.
P
47.5°
0.6P
British Association Thread
P
55°
0.64P
British Standard Whitworth Thread
P
60°
0.65P
American National Thread
Nut
P rc = 0.108P
60°
0.541P
0.613P
rr = 0.144P
Bolt
Unified Thread
P
P/2
P/2
Square Thread
P
0.9707P
29°
P/2
ACME Thread
P 0.16P
45°
0.66P
7°
Buttress Thread
P
P/2
P/2
Knuckle Thread
3. THREAD REPRESENTATION (SYMBOLS)
• Detail (varies according to thread type, i.e., V, Square, ACME)
• Schematic
• Simplified
External Thread
Crest and Root lines not to be shown
Internal Thread
Detail Symbol for Square-Thread
Schematic Thread Symbol (ANSI)
Schematic Thread Symbol (ISO)
Simplified Thread Symbol (ANSI)
Simplified Thread Symbol (ISO)
DRAWING FASTENERS
Draw three views of a 1.5 inch Nominal diameter ANS Hex Nut.
