Washers & Its Types – A Brief Intro

by Avadhesh Sharma SEO Analyst

Washers are a kind of hardware which have the shapes of thin plates (usually disk or square shaped) which have holes in them. The duty of a washer is to distribute the loads of nuts and bolts. Washers are also used for reducing vibration and as a locking tool, preload indicator, spring, spacer and wear pad. Usually the outer diameter of a washer is almost twice in size than its inner diameter.

Uses of washers:

Washers are typically made up of plastic or metal. High quality applications of bolt joints use hard boiled steel washers. Generally this special hardware is used for avoiding galvanic corrosion as it insulates steel-made screws which are usually installed on the aluminum surfaces.

Industrial washer manufacturer companies in the UAE supply their products in several rotating applications. Bearing applications have many uses of different types of washers including thrust washer.

Origin of washers:

No definite information is found about how the word was originated. But according to the data found, it can be said first ‘washer’ was used in 1346 and industrial washers came into popularity during the 16th century.

But why they were named as ‘washers’? Taps or valves or faucets use fiber gaskets for sealing the water leakage, which are locally referred as washers. But more elaborately, though gaskets and washers look similar but they are designed to serve different purposes and also manufactured differently.

Types of washers:

Usually washers are categorized into three kinds, which are –

1. Plain washers – it helps in preventing damages to the fixed surfaces. It often provides electrical insulation

2. Spring washers – it offers axial flexibility. It is normally used to stop vibration related loosening or fastening

3. Locking washers – it is also used to avoid the loosening or fastening of the fastening tool by seizing its unscrewing rotation. These washers are also called as spring washers.

Other kinds of popularly used washer types are as below –

• Flat washer – it is normally a metal ring which helps in load sharing of the fastening.

• Fender washer – it is also referred as repair or mudguard or penny washer. This flat piece of washer shares the load using a thin metal sheet and commonly used in the automobile fenders.

• Spherical washer – it is recognized as a self-aligning nut and has a radiused exterior. a mating nut and a spherical washer are used in a combination.

• Wall washer – it is a large plate that remains tied to a bolt. Masonry building walls use wall washers or anchor plates. It is often preferred for its decorative appearance.

• Torque washer – woodworking has its use but combined with carriage bolts. It fits into the carriage bolt on its square shaped hole.

Examples of locking and spring washers –

Various popular industrial washers supplier companies provides huge varieties of spring washers including

• Curved disc spring

• Belleville washer

• Spring lock washer

• Wave washer

• Tab washer

• Star or serrated or toothed lock washer

• Wedge lock washer

Their supplied and most used washers in different parts of the industry use a lot of material varieties such as steel, nylon, alloy, non-ferrous metal, plastic, phenolic, and some other special materials like fiber, rubber, mica, etc.