Common Uses of Square Flat Washers

August 9, 2017

Washers are the fastening industries' load distributors. When they're manufactured as conservatively shaped discs, they protect the area around an inserted bolt by augmenting the diameter of that fastener head. Square flat washers serve the same purpose, but they also take that principle in a different direction. They're shims and turn-resistant anchoring products. Having touched upon a few simple applications, just what are the common uses of square flat washers?

Squarish Shims Fill Space

That's right, while disc washers are operating solely as load distributors, square flat washers are serving a second role. Their thick metal forms have that standard bolt opening in the centre, plus a wide surface area, a feature that spreads torque and head load, but they also perform as shims. That means the bolt crown can be lifted away from the anchored part. It also means that a multi surface project won't deform or bend when the fastener is tightened, not when these shimming washers are interposed between more than two anchoring parts. If there is an open space in the coupling join, the zone between the bolt head and the nut at the other end of the fastener rod, the squared shim washers occupy that space and act as a force-countering join segment. Employed in the construction industry and complex parts mating scenarios, this bushing or packing feature keeps multiple join surfaces deform-free.

Non-Rotating Fixtures

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When a narrow structural frame employs a restrictive series of elongated channels, there are advantages to be gained when the underlying fastener parts lock. Special locking nuts are half the battle here, yet there's still that spinning washer disc to deal with, isn't that right? Well, square flat washers solve that spinning headache by using their flat edges as an anchor. Placed below the bolt head and under the nut, the fastener is already partially locked. Just screw the nut tight to complete the fastener's journey. Of course, this may sound like a rudimentary product attribute, but it's one that becomes invaluable when square structural tubing is employed on a building project.

Due to their flat sides, square flat washers are also commonly used in complex machine housings. High-vibration machinery, mine screening equipment and commercial washing machines, as just two examples of this application practice, use the flat, square fastener parts in restrictive spaces to ensure anchoring reliability, even when those vibrational forces try their best to loosen the bolt. Narrow vehicle crevices, square tubing, construction frame components, all of these applications and more benefit when shim-capable square flat washers are called into service.

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