Standardization

Standardization of screw threads has evolved since the early nineteenth century to facilitate compatibility between different manufacturers and users. The standardization process is still ongoing; in particular there are still (otherwise identical) competing metric and inch-sized thread standards widely used.[6] Standard threads are commonly identified by short letter codes (M, UNC, etc.) which also form the prefix of the standardized designations of individual threads. Additional product standards identify preferred thread sizes for screws and nuts, as well as corresponding bolt head and nut sizes, to facilitate compatibility between spanners (wrenches) and other tools.

ISO standard threads

Main article: ISO metric screw thread The most common threads in use are the ISO metric screw threads (M) for most purposes and BSP threads (R, G) for pipes. These were standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1947. Although metric threads were mostly unified in 1898 by the International Congress for the standardization of screw threads, separate metric thread standards were used in France, Germany, and Japan, and the Swiss had a set of threads for watches.

Other current standards

In particular applications and certain regions, threads other than the ISO metric screw threads remain commonly used, sometimes because of special application requirements, but mostly for reasons of backwards compatibility:

ASME B1.1 Unified Inch Screw Threads, (UN and UNR Thread Form), considered an American National Standard (ANS) widely use in the US and Canada Unified Thread Standard (UTS), which is still the dominant thread type in the United States and Canada. This standard includes: o Unified Coarse (UNC), commonly referred to as "National Coarse" or "NC" in retailing. o Unified Fine (UNF), commonly referred to as "National Fine" or "NF" in retailing. o Unified Extra Fine (UNEF) o Unified Special (UNS) National pipe thread (NPT), used for plumbing of water and gas pipes, and threaded electrical conduit. o NPTF (National Pipe Thread Fuel) British Standard Whitworth (BSW), and for other Whitworth threads including: o British Standard Fine (BSF) o Cycle Engineers' Institute (CEI) or British Standard Cycle (BSC)

British standard pipe thread (BSP) which exists in a taper and non taper variant; used for other purposes as well o British Standard Pipe Taper (BSPT) British Association screw threads (BA), primarily electronic/electrical, moving coil meters and to mount optical lenses British Standard Buttress Threads (BS 1657:1950) British Standard for Spark Plugs BS 45:1972 British Standard Brass a fixed pitch 26tpi thread Glass Packaging Institute threads (GPI), primarily for glass bottles and vials Power screw threads o Acme thread form o Square thread form o Buttress thread Camera case screws, used to mount a camera on a photographic tripod: [7] o UNC used on almost all small cameras o UNC for larger (and some older small) cameras

(many older cameras use " BSW or " BSW threads, which in low stress applications, and if machined to wide tolerances, are for practical purposes compatible with the UNC threads)

Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) thread, also known as society thread, is a special 0.8" diameter x 36 thread-per-inch (tpi) Whitworth thread form used for microscope objective lenses. Microphone stands: o 27 threads per inch (tpi) Unified Special thread (UNS, USA and the rest of the world) o BSW (not common in the USA, used in the rest of the world) o BSW (not common in the USA, used in the rest of the world) Stage lighting suspension bolts (in some countries only; some have gone entirely metric, others such as Australia have reverted to the BSW threads, or have never fully converted): o BSW for lighter luminaires o BSW for heavier luminaires Tapping screw threads (ST) ISO 1478 Aerospace inch threads (UNJ) ISO 3161 Aerospace metric threads (MJ) ISO 5855 Tyre valve threads (V) ISO 4570 Metal bone screws (HA, HB) ISO 5835 Panzergewinde (Pg) (German) is an old German 80 thread (DIN 40430) that remained in use until 2000 in some electrical installation accessories in Germany. Fahrradgewinde (Fg) (English: bicycle thread) is a German bicycle thread standard (per DIN 79012 and DIN 13.1), which encompasses a lot of CEI and BSC threads as used on cycles and mopeds everywhere (http://www.fahrradmonteur.de/fahrradgewinde.php) CEI (Cycle Engineers Institute, used on bicycles in Britain and possibly elsewhere) Edison base Incandescent light bulb holder screw thread Fire hose connection (NFPA standard 194)

Hose Coupling Screw Threads (ANSI/ASME B1.20.7-1991 [R2003]) for garden hoses and accessories Lwenherz thread, a German metric thread used for measuring instruments Sewing machine thread