“Ask The Expert” Lock Nuts Un-Locked
by: Kevin Connolly, Applications Engineer
An explantion of the types, styles and differences of lock nuts.
At Earnest Machine, we receive many questions on lock nuts due to the variety of styles that are available
in the market and the many different names that customers and manufacturers call them.
The term “Lock Nut” is used to describe a nut that is designed to provide higher resistance to loosening as
compared to a standard hex nut. Lock nuts are commonly used in applications that encounter vibration or impact forces that can cause a standard nut to loosen over time.
Over the years, manufacturers have developed locking nuts that they feel provide ease of installation while increasing
the nuts ability to stay tight once assembled. Many of these manufacturers will give their lock nut designs a proprietary name or a name that has become synonymous to a lock nut. Lock nuts with names like Anco®, Drake®, Columbian®, Dura-Flex®, Philidas®, Security Locknut® and Flex-Loc® are designs that are more exclusive to certain manufacturers.