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Thread Profile The screw thread which is found on the surface of the nut is a helical structure which has been designed so that a rotational motion is converted into a linear motion when connected with a nut. The ridge on the side of the shaft is mated with the nuts mirror image of the profile and when the bolt is revolving, the head of the bolt will get closer or further away from the nut, depending on the direction of the rotation and is usually clockwise to tight, however there are some nuts which have been threaded in the opposite way depending on their application. The mechanical advantages which are attributed to the nut and bolt depend solely on the devices lead , the linear distance which the bolt will travel upon one revolution and is dependent on the friction which is required to prevent any linear motion bein g converted into rotary motion and so the connection becoming loose. This means that the screw will not slip negating any linear forces as long as there are no induced rotational forces to be concerned. This characteristic can be compared to a door wedge where the friction is increased to such a level where a minimal amount of plastic deformation is subjected and in essence holding the door in place through friction. Gender is used to convey the matched pair of threads, male being an external thread and female for an internal thread, also as mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is a factor of handedness which depicts which way the nut will tighten and or slacken. Typically this can be associated with the right hand grip rule, where the nut will tighten under clockwise rotation and slacken under anti-clockwise rotation. In the case of a shaft whose rotational nature would cause the nut to slacken would be an ideal example of where the thread would operate under the left hand grip rule, such as, the left hand pedal on a bicycle, lug nuts on the left hand side of a vehicle or even corporate secrets of disassembly. The cross sectional shape of the bolts thread is usually referred to as the threadform or form and can sometimes be used to depict all design aspects including pitch, cross section shape and diameter. The form of a screw can be either triangular, square of trapezoidal, with most triangular forms being based on an isosceles triangle and are usually called V-threads due to the shape of their cross sectional profile. When the angle is close or equal to 60 the triangle is more equilateral in nature and when this shape resembles a scalene triangle the application tends towards buttress thread (illustrated right). During the machining process we will expect to see that the shape of the triangle is usually truncated to some degree, this can assist with the application in some degree, for example, if the application expected to be subjected to particular debries contaminating the working area, the gap left at the top of the

triangle allows the debrie, or lubricant, to be pushed into these recesses. Another example of screws include, Roller screws, Figure 1 - Buttress thread these are a low friction device which are typically found in actuators, where the complexity of the roller screws located around the central bolt affects the cost dramatically.

When researching screws it is also important to depict the thread angle of the screw. This is the angle of the V-Shape of cross section of the thread, depicted in the illustration. There are also several standard values which are associated with the shape and angle of the profile which are detailed in the table below. Thread Standard Majority of Vthreads Thread Angle 60 Profile

Figure 2 - Thread Angle

Letter Code M

Whitworth

55

Pipe

55

Acme

29

Steel Conduit

80

Pg

Buttress

45

Knuckle

30

Rd

Metric Trapezoidal

30

Tr

The e are other factors which nee to be conveye when concerne with the threads this is the pitch, lead and starts The pitch and the lead are concepts which are very closely related and can be commonly confused with one another, in essence the pitch of a thread is the distance from the crest of one thread to another with the lead being the distance of the axial dimension of the shaft which is covered by a 360 rotation of said axis It is also common to find that on threads which have single starts the pitch and the lead are the same value, this is because one start means that there is effectively one peak which runs the complete length, hence, with each rotation we will advance one peak. In the case of a double start thread we will find that there are effectively two peaks or ridges which run down the length and in this case each full revolution will cause the bolt to advance two ridges. Mathematically the ration between pitch and lead can be characterized as:

It is also common practice to describe the pitch of the metric form as threads per inch (TPI) and in essence is the amount of threads which occur per inch of the axial distance and also is the reciprocal of the pitch, for example if a quater-20 thread has a 20 TPI the pitch would be 1/20inches. Whilst we are still exploring the pitch of a thread it would also be pertinent to discuss weather or not the thread is coarse or fine, in the case of a coarse thread we would expect that the threads of the form would be larger than the relative diameter and with fine threads having the smaller form to the

diameter. A good example of the difference would be a wood saw could be defined as being coarse with a file being of fine grade. In the previous paragraph we have loosely touched on diameters, when in essence the diameter is not just one value, it is broken down into three composites, Pitch, Major and minor diameters. The pitch diameter or the mean diameter is the diameter between the major and minor diameters and is the measurement where the pitch of the thread is equally divided between the gender of the threads (i.e. male and female). The pitch diameter in essence is essential as it depicts a close matching between the male and female threads, so that the slopping sides a in close contact re increasing the surface area of friction when the threads are tightened. The Major diameter is the outside diameter of the thread of the male component, this is not the same for the female component as it is the inside diameter that the major diameter of the male part will mate with, which leaves the minor diameter; this is the smallest diameter of the thread (male). Thread depths are the result of the truncated edge of the ridge of the screw, or the percentage of thread and is extensively detailed in the ISO and UTS standards codify indicating tolerances and the degree of truncation. It is found that a perfectly sharp 60 V -shape thread will have a depth which is proportional to the pitch and in this case would be equal to 86.6% of sai d pitch; this of course is an intrinsic law to basic trigonometric functions and is independent from units of measurement. Research has indicated that the ISO and UTS standards are typically 75% of the pitch which includes depth and truncation. When cutting threads this percentage is lowered so that the die and tap of the machining process has greater longevity, an average of 60 -65% will allow this as well as not reducing the overall strength of the thread and in comparison 60% thread depth is often regarded as an optimal level to achieve where as 75% thread depth would be deemed as being over engineered. We would expect to see when a thread has been produced there are additional methods which can be adopted to further increase the truncated sections, depend if we are ing concerned with the male or female component of the part. In the casse of the male component the general method would see the bar stock turned down before the thread is cut, so that the major diameter is reduced, similarly, for the female component, a slightly oversized tap drill is utilized effectively reducing the minor diameter and is important to note that utilizing this methodology will not reduce the components overall pitch diameter. The balance between thread truncation and strength is determining the components cost, strength, material thickness and of course weight characteristics. This phenomenon is directly influenced by the safety factor which is included to the design to include a factor of safety in regards to the tolerances which will be induced by the environment in which the bolt is subjected and as such is the direct decision from business management. The choice is deliberated with certain factors, specifically the performance and failure of the component and possible mitigation for the company, which could include the loss of human life, an example of a faulty component can be seen in the Apollo space mission which dramatically failed during launch and was attributed to a faulty O-ring. The taper of the thread has also been adopted with application in plumbing and specifically in pressurised connection hoses, where the thread is slightly tapered to ensure that when the male/female components are mated, the taper of the thread increases the friction and makes for a

Figure 3 - Tapered thread

more component couple. There are other examples which utilize the tapered thread, namely a wood screw, in which the form of the threads will give a conical silhouette and as such allows the user to screw the piece of metal into the wood without inducing excessive force being required to revolve without reducing the effectiveness of the component. The seal which is created through this methodology is known as the labyrinth seal and when this application is tightened to the predetermined torque will cause a small deformation of the thread; the threads themselves are sometimes coated in sealant such as PTFE tape or a liquid/paste pipe sealant, with some paste sealants adding an additional level of fluidity during mating and of course negating any spiral leakage as a result.

The histories of screw fasteners can be attributed to approximately the first century , approximately 500 B.C. during the time of Plato, where screw shaped tools were found to be used in common practices however cannot be directly attributed to one particular inventor. The early example were originally made by hand from wood and in such no two screws were the same, this made for incredibly time consuming processes of hand filing the threads to suit the application made mass production virtually impossible. Examples which utilized threads to increase, effectively increasing production can be found in early wine, olive oil and cloth presses and it wasn t until the fifteen centaury when metal was the preferred material of choice. Archimedes was also accredited with using this technology to develop water pumps which were used not only for irrigation but for bailing ships in original bilge pump examples. The Romans also made use of this technology to pump water from deep mines which were prone to flooding. During the late eighteenth century and in the midst of the British industrial revolution, instrument maker Jesse Ramsden invented the first screw cutting lathe which could produce screws, of satisfactory quality on mass. There is also evidence to suggest that French court engineer for Charles the ninth, Jacques Besson should also be attributed with the early developments of mechanising this process. Jesse was the inspiration behind future developments as most forefathers of new technologies and as so Henry Maudslay introduced a large screw cutting lathe which allowed the technology to develop and produces mass quantities of accurately sized screws, however David Wilkinson was the person who managed to develop a method which saw the mass production of metal screws. In 1760, two British brothers William and Job Wyatt filed a patent illustrating the process required for the automated screw cutting dev ice, which could produce ten screws in sixty seconds and was considered in the industry as being one of the major precursors of mass production machinery and concepts. The method which was developed by Maudslay is still in use into today s production of screws, his machine was the first powered driven, screw cutting lath. The major demand for the development of the screw technology was also due to the advances in steam engines, trains and machine tools in the form of a nut, bolt and lead screw, with the biggest obstacle of the era being that there was no standardisation, ultimately quashing the developments and global acceptance, with each workshop producing their individual designs wh ich were not interchangeable. Credit to the development of this technology should also be bestowed on Stephen Finch who introduced the world s first turret lathe which was further developed by the introduction of the fully automated lathe introduced by Christopher Walker shortly after the American Civil War. In 1810 Abom and Jackson collaborated efforts, introducing the world s first screw factoryon Rhode Island and in only eighty five years, the screw makers of America had forming workers unions which were battling for fair pay for workers. The $1.75 (U.S. $) was baised on a ten hour day for members and $1.25 for new apprentices to the industry and during this time smaller innovations were adopted to increase the products efficiencies, notably from investor John. E. Sweet who devised the angular cutting method which allows manufacturers to cut an entire thread from one side of the lathe. In modern day terms the method of screw cutting has, of course, been superseded and current examples of the manufacturing process has seen a method known as thread rolling be utilized. This method was the brain child of William Keane however during this time the American had little success attempting to break into the market. The major issue with the process was the material which was used to create the threaded profile was not of a high enough g rade of iron, which directly influenced the die cutting process by failure in splitting, however once the

manufacturing costs could only be affected by the process used a re-evaluation of the system in place and the development of the process from Keane in thread rolling. To overcome the problems associated with the sporadic availability of screw designs, Joseph Whitworth set himself a task of forming some order within the industry, collecting a large number of samples from British workshops which ultimately led to him calling for a 55 standardisation on screw thread angles and the TPI to be standardised according to varying diameters, becoming standards practice in Britain in 1860. In 1864 American tool maker and engineer independently proposed that another standard should be adopted based on a thread angle of 60 and the pitch be set for specific diameters, as with Whitworth this was adopted by the nation, developing into the Standard fine and course series (NF/NC respectively). The story in Europe was very different, howver after much deliberation the French and German standard which was baised on the 60 angle and metric system prevailed. In 1901, a Canadian by the name of P. L. Robertson developed a square drive screw twenty eight years prior to the familiar square drive screws developed by Henry Phillips (patented as Phillips head screws). Robertson is regarded as the man who produced the worlds first recess drive type fastener practical for production purposes and is also the foundations of the North American Standard according to the sixth edition publication of the Industrial Fasteners Institute Metric and Inch Standards. The advantage of the square head screw is that the driver component will not slip out of the screws head during instillation as well as reducing the chance of the installer stripping the head under excessive friction or soft material being utilized. The first major application recorded which utilized this type of new screw was the model T-Ford, which included over seven hundred of Robertson s screws per vehicle. In conclusion these types of screw could offer the consumer greater levels of torque, provide tighter fastening and an increase overall reliability. Hexagonal/Hex screws were developed due to alleged claims of American inventor Gilbert. F. Heublein, where an Allen key (hexagonal L shaped wrench), however this is more speculation from several reputable sources. The raw materials which are utilized in the production of screws is generally low to medium grade carbon steel however depending on the application such other tough inexpensive materials may be substituted for the medium carbon steel depending on such factors as, weather, atmosphere, the material to be fastened and so on, with such materials as brass, nickel alloys, stainless steel or aluminium alloys. The quality of the material used for this purpose must be of paramount importance, a miscalculation can have mortal results. When concerned about the manufacturing of screws we would expect to use machining process for components which are unique or too small to be made by any other process, this is due to the time consuming, expensive and wasteful process. On the whole the for mentioned rolling method is used for mass manufacturing processes however is comprised of several stages of , conception, detailed over the next few points 1. Wire is fed through a prestraightening machine from a mechanical coil, directly into another machine which cuts the wire to pre-determined

Figure 4 - Thread rolling

specifications and cuts the head of the screw blank to the required specifications. The screw heading machine can perform two different operations depending on requirements, it may either by an open or closed die, requiring one or two punches, respectively to attach the head of the screw. In comparison it is regarded that the closed die will produce a head with superior tolerances, with the machine being able to produce anywhere between one to five hundred screw blanks in sixty seconds. 2. The screw blanks are then loaded automatically into a vibrating hopper to have the thread cut into the material. This hopper guides the blanks into the die cutter while assuring that the blank is orientated correctly. 3. The cutting process can make use of one of three methods from this point, the first being the reciprocating die, which is where two dies are used to cut the thread, with one of the dies being stationary and the other being alternating in a reciprocating manner, with the blank being rolled to predetermined specifications. The second method utilizes a centre-less cylindrical die, where the inserted screw blank is rolled between two to three cylindrical dies in order to produce the desired thread. The final method sees the thread being adorned to the blank by means of a Planetary rotary die process, the method sees the blank being held stationary while a number of cylindrical die cutting components orbit the blank cutting the threads. A good example of this planetary process can be seen in old desktop pencil sharpeners, where a butterfly restraining clip held the pencil in place while the user turned the handle, effectively sharpening the pencil. All three of these methods create a product which is superior to the machine cut method in tolerances and design, due to the thread not actually being cut into the blank in the rolling process, it is instead impressed into the blanks material and as such the material is not weakened during the process and there is no waste due to this process. The threads are also precisely positioned in the rolling method with the most productive rolling method being the planetary method which can produce between sixty to two thousand components every sixty seconds. When concerned with the finished quality of the screw, we can refer to stipulations which are extensively documented by, The National Screw Thread Commission who established a slandered for screw threads. This commission, established in 1928 was originally envisaged for the interchangeability of the produced components between applications. This was further supported by the International Declaration of Accord 1948 which adopted the unified screw thread system. These standards focused their attention on three major areas concerned with the production of screw threads fasteners, profile, threads per inch (thus pitch and lead) and diameter sizes. This culminated in 1966 where the International Standards Organisation (ISO) suggested a universal restriction on threads into ISO metric as well as inch size ranges with fine and course pitches, with compliance with these industry standards being adopted globally. There are also several ways in which to measure threads, one of which being a screw thread micrometer, which is slightly different to a normal micrometer in that the screw thread model has a cone shaped spindle and a mating anvil, designed to fit over the threads and measure the threads major diameter, less the depth of one thread. This method is ideal for any threading operation due to the fact that the measurements can be taken without removing the workpeice from the machine. Another method which is used is known as the three wire method, which uses a regular micrometer placed over three wires of same diameter for the thread to be measured. The thread dimensions are then included with a working formula which

yields the diameter over the wires for a U.S. standard of 60 and as with the previously mentioned benefit the part does not have to be removed to be measured.

The formula is M = D + 3G (1.5155/N), where M is the measurement over the wires, D is the threads major diameter, G is the diameter of the wires, P is pitch (1/N) and N is the number of threads per inch (tpi). The largest wire size is 1.010/N = 1.010 P. The best wire size is 0.57735/N = 0.57735 P. The smallest wire size is 0.505/N = 0.505 P. Note that G must be no larger or no smaller than the sizes shown above. Any wire between the largest and smallest may be used. All wires must be the same size. The thread triangle method measures the distance over a pair of steel triangles between the thread roots. A reference chart is then used to determine thread depth. This measuring method also works well for lathe threading while the work remains in the lathe. Thread ring gages and plug gages are commercial master thread gages for external and internal threads. These are highly accurate and often used in pairs of GO and NO-GO dimensions. Work must be removed from the lathe to measure external threads between centers. An optical comparator, which projects a magnified shadowgraph of the part on a ground glass screen, is useful to determine a threads shape and dimensions, but not useful for checking work while it is in the lathe. These are also useful for checking a cutting tools shape. Using the mating part itself is often the best choice for checking threads, particularly in nonproduction or spare parts situations. Not all measurement methods work for all types of threads. For example, internal and tapered threads cannot be checked with a thread micrometer or with the three-wire method, but a plug gage will work fine. CTE

In the modern industrial world screw technology has been adopted in the developments of actuators where examples can be found in wing flaps, measuring distances, to adjust and ho ld lengths as of course fasteners.

When concerned with the scre thread of the example in question we cannot help but to be drawn to the basic principles of ISO metric screw threads. These are defined in the International standard ISO 68-1with preferred levels of pitch and diameter listed in the accompanying ISO-621

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_screw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw_thread http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_angle http://www.answers.com/topic/tapered-thread http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threaded_pipe http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Plumbing/NPT%5B1%5D.pdf http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=46728 http://www.ylicorp.com/pdf/tot-brochure.pdf ***** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threading_(manufacturing) ****** http://www.hanlonequipment.com/pdfs/Washers,%20Caps,%20&%20Nuts.p df

http://www.sizes.com/tools/thread_history.htm http://www.sizes.com/tools/thread_history.htm http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/screwdriver_2.htm http://www.madehow.com/Volume-3/Screw.html http://www.ctemag.com/aa_pages/2009/0903_ShopOperations.html

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