Aerospace Fasteners In Use new

Authors Name: Ann Romano


If you specialize in the aerospace manufacturing industry, then it is important for you to carry a wide variety of fasteners, inserts (tang less can be useful in this capacity), and the proper equipment with which to use these materials.

Aerospace fasteners built for these specific requirements, therefore, are the most essential elements in meeting fastening requirements in engines, airframe and several other hydraulic systems. It not only ensures safety to the aircraft, but by building with quality parts, you also enhance your business returns. Choices are many, as far as the variety, sizes and shapes of the product are concerned. Moreover, the materials used to create the fasteners are compliant with the manufacturer and military standards.

The safe operation of an aircraft as well as your business reputation is highly dependent on the accurate selection and usage of hardware in the manufacturing process you employ. A regular aircraft is made of numerous small items. An aircraft builder must have complete knowledge of the hardware necessary for building an aircraft and also be able to have fully traceable parts as in many cases, government buyers cannot purchase without being able to trace each part back to a particular source.

It is advisable to use only quality hardware in building an aircraft for the specific purpose of aerospace manufacturing. A custom built aircraft requires thousands of hardware pieces. Some of the categories of hardware include bolts, nuts, washers, screws, cotter pins and safety wire, rivets, turn lock fasteners, control cable hardware, fluid lines and fittings, inserts, electrical wiring and connectors.

Since an aircraft faces a lot of vibration, the nuts must be fixed with a locking device to ensure that they stay in place. These nuts can be locked with cotter pins, commonly used in locker washers, safety wire, fiber nuts and castle nuts. The most common nuts used in aircraft hardware include castle nuts, self-locking nuts, plain nuts, wing nuts and anchor nuts.

Castle nuts made from steel and cadmium plates are the most commonly used ones. Castle nuts are used along with clevis bolts, shank bolts and eye bolts. These nuts have slots to fit in a cotter pin, done mainly for safety reasons. Self-locking nuts do not require any locking device. They are pretty easy to use, and are therefore, very popular. However, self-locking nuts are generally not used on bolts that are connected to a moving part. A common example of this is the use of a clevis bolt in a control cable application.

Plain aircraft nuts, however, need a locking device. The locking devices used here are lock washer or check nut. They are not very commonly used in air crafts. Other than the ones mentioned, there are some other nuts available as well. Wing nuts are generally applied to battery connections or hose clamps. The proper tightness and fittings are generally brought about by hands. Another type of nut, also known as anchor nut, is broadly used in places where it is not easy to access it. Other types of nuts used include tinnerman nuts, pal nuts, cap nuts, and instruments for mounting nuts.

After you get the appropriate nuts used in an aircraft it is equally necessary to get them installed in the best way. While using a castle nut, just for example, the cotter pin hole might not be in arrangement with the slots on the nut. Here the nut should not be over tightened, but should be permitted to assemble with the next slot along with the cotter pin hole.

Remember, aerospace fasteners are not like fasteners you buy at your hard wear store. They are designed for the rigors or air flight and must be manufactured to appropriate specifications. Make sure that you use the appropriate fasteners for the job at hand.