A4 Stainless Steel Spring Washers, 316-Grade Stainless Locking Washers

Product Description

A4 stainless steel spring washers, in a range of metric sizes.  Use spring washers where bolted joints are prone to loosening from vibration. 

A spring washer has a split so that when tightened, each side of the split bites into the surfaces of the nut and mounting surface.  Also the spring washer acts to pre-load the bolted joint, to maintain the tension in the bolt under varying conditions.

Whether to choose our A4 stainless steel spring washers, or another method of keeping your nuts and bolts tight, depends on the circumstances and, to some extent, personal preference.  Alternative choices would be:

• Use of Nyloc nuts (a type of locking nut)
• Use of a thread-locking compound

In many cases a Nyloc nut is the easiest and most reliable way of keeping your bolted joints tight and free from vibration loosening.  You should not, however, rely on Nyloc nuts for temperatures above 120 degrees C, so be aware of this limitation around engine bays.  

Another alternative locking method is to use a thread-locking compound.  These generally rely on the absence of air to set, and only work for metallic materials.  Beware using thread locking compounds, though, if you need to easily undo the bolted joint regularly.

In summary, spring washers are one of a range of measures to keep bolted joints tight.  They are well-suited to higher temperature situations compared to the alternatives.