Difference between Bolts and Nuts

No industry can survive in Today’s world without fasteners like screws, bolts and nuts. These are the essential hardware parts required by any machines, whether simple household items to complex high-end machines in industries. Moreover, It is many times crucial to use high quality nuts, bolts and screws. From small furniture crafting to oil sector industries the most essential hardware items include these fasteners – bolted joint is the most trustworthy part connection – moreover, it usually gives an option of dismantling and reinstalling.

What are Screws?

If it has a head on one end it is a screw.  The head is driven or turned with a screw driver or sometimes with a wrench.  The diameter ranges vary to meet demands and needs of specific products.  Screws are generally turned into an object, like a piece of wood, so the head needs to be bigger than the surface.  This prevents the screw from being turned further than the length of the screw itself.  There are a few exceptions.  For example, set screws have smaller heads and have special uses.  There are a few screws that are tightened counterclockwise but most of them are tightened by turning clockwise.

What are Bolts?

Bolts are screws that rotate into a matched nut to tighten it.  Bolts have a bigger head than the shaft, with a few exceptions.  Carriage bolts and J-bolts are among those exceptions.  The shafts of bolts are not tapered, whereas many screws are tapered.  The main difference between a bolt and a screw is that a typical screw can work on its own and a bolt requires a nut to secure it.

Difference between Bolts and Nuts

While People often get confused, bolts and screws are different types of fasteners. Bolts are headed fasteners with external threads suitable for non-tapered nut. They require a nut (or some other thread) as a counter – to lock the joint. The bolts are made with standardized threads satisfying the standard specifications such as UNJ, UNR, MJ etc. and are used in most industrial applications – secured with a spring-washer or a locktite. Adding to it, bolts are designed to use as a fastener placed through already drilled holes in the machine parts and these requires a nut to tighten it from the other end.

Talking about Screws, they are externally headed threaded types of fasteners without meeting the standard specifications of the bolts. They are shafts with provision at one end to turn the screw and have a helical thread on its surface, which is able of piercing strongly into the surface. They do not require a nut and are used mostly in home-based application – such a connecting a picture to the wall. It is actually the simplest example of converting torque into linear force.