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ISO metric screw thread

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The ISO metric screw threads are the world-wide most commonly used type of general-
purpose screw thread.[1] They were one of the first international standards agreed when the
International Organization for Standardization was set up in 1947.[citation needed]

Contents

1 Basic profile

2 Designation

3 Preferred sizes

4 Standards

4.1 International

4.2 National

5 See also

6 References

6.1 Bibliography

7 External links

Basic profile
The design principles of ISO
general-purpose metric screw
threads ("M" series threads) are
defined in international standard
ISO 68-1.[2] Each thread is
characterized by its major
diameter D and its pitch P. ISO
metric threads consist of a
symmetric V-shaped thread. In
the plane of the thread axis, the
flanks of the V have an angle of
60° to each other. The
outermost 1/8 and the
innermost 1/4 of the height H of
the V-shape are cut off from the Basic profile of all ISO metric screw threads

profile.

The relationship between the height H and the pitch P is found using the following equation:[3]

In an external (male) thread (e.g., on a bolt), the major diameter Dmaj and the minor diameter
Dmin define maximum dimensions of the thread. This means that the external thread must end

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flat at Dmaj, but can be rounded out below the minor diameter Dmin. Conversely, in an internal
(female) thread (e.g., in a nut), the major and minor diameters are minimum dimensions,
therefore the thread profile must end flat at Dmin but may be rounded out beyond Dmaj.

The minor diameter Dmin and effective pitch diameter Dp are derived from the major diameter
and pitch as

Designation
A metric ISO screw thread is designated by the letter M followed by the value of the nominal
diameter D (Dmaj in the diagram above) and the pitch P, both expressed in millimetres and
separated by the multiplication sign, × (e.g., M8×1.25). If the pitch is the normally used
"coarse" pitch listed in ISO 261 or ISO 262, it can be omitted (e.g., M8). Tolerance classes
defined in ISO 965-1 can be appended to these designations, if required (e.g., M10 – 6g in
external threads). External threads are designated by lowercase letter, g or h. Internal threads
are designated by upper case letters , H or G.

Preferred sizes
ISO 261, titled ISO general purpose metric screw threads—General plan, is an international
standard that defines a detailed list of preferred combinations of outer diameter D and pitch P for
ISO metric screw threads.[4]

ISO 262, titled ISO general purpose metric screw threads—Selected sizes for screws, bolts and
nuts, defines a shorter list of thread dimensions – a subset of the combinations listed in ISO 261
– which is listed below:[5]

Nominal diameter Pitch

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6 1
7 1
8 1.25 1
10 1.5 1.25 or 1
12 1.75 1.5 or 1.25
14 2 1.5
16 2 1.5
18 2.5 2 or 1.5
20 2.5 2 or 1.5
22 2.5 2 or 1.5
24 3 2
27 3 2
30 3.5 2
33 3.5 2
36 4 3
39 4 3
42 4.5 3
45 4.5 3
48 5 3
52 5 4
56 5.5 4
60 5.5 4
64 6 4

The "coarse" pitch is the commonly-used default pitch for a given diameter. In addition, one or
two smaller "fine" pitches are defined, for use in applications where the height of the normal
"coarse" pitch would be unsuitable (e.g., threads in thin-walled pipes). The terms "coarse" and
"fine" have in this context no relation to the manufacturing quality of the thread.

Standards

International

ISO 68-1: ISO general purpose screw threads — Basic profile — Metric screw threads.

ISO 261: ISO general purpose metric screw threads — General plan.

ISO 262: ISO general purpose metric screw threads — Selected sizes for screws, bolts and
nuts.

ISO 965: ISO general purpose metric screw threads — Tolerances[6]

ISO 965-1: Principles and basic data

ISO 965-2: Limits of sizes for general purpose external and internal screw threads.

ISO 965-3: Deviations for constructional screw threads

ISO 965-4: Limits of sizes for hot-dip galvanized external screw threads to mate with
internal screw threads tapped with tolerance position H or G after galvanizing

ISO 965-5: Limits of sizes for internal screw threads to mate with hot-dip galvanized
external screw threads with maximum size of tolerance position h before galvanizing

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National

BS 3643: ISO metric screw threads

ANSI/ASME B1.13M: Metric Screw Threads: M Profile

See also

Acme thread form
National thread

British Association screw threads (BA)
Panzergewinde

British Standard Cycle (BSC)
Screw thread

British standard fine thread (BSF)
Square thread form

British standard pipe thread (BSP)
Thread angle

British Standard Whitworth (BSW) – a
United States Standard thread
(now obsolete) British thread standard
Unified Thread Standard (UTS, UNC, UNF,
with 55° profile. UNEF and UNS) – a US/Canadian/British

Buttress thread thread standard that uses the same 60°

Garden hose thread profile, but an inch-based set of

National pipe thread (NPT) diameter/pitch combinations.

References
1. ↑ ISO/TC/ 1 Business Plan, 2007-03-05, Version 1.3. Table 3: The market share of each screw
thread, p. 7.
2. ↑ ISO 68-1:1998 ISO general purpose screw threads – Basic profile – Part 1: Metric screw threads.
International Organization for Standardization. http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?
csnumber=3707.
3. ↑ Oberg et al. 2000, p. 1706.
4. ↑ ISO 261:1998 ISO general purpose metric screw threads – General plan. International
Organization for Standardization. 17 Dec 1998.
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=4165.
5. ↑ ISO 262:1998 ISO general purpose metric screw threads – Selected sizes for screws, bolts and
nuts. International Organization for Standardization. 17 Dec 1998.
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=4167.
6. ↑ [1] ISO 965 in the Catalogue on the Official ISO website

Bibliography

Oberg, Erik; Jones, Franklin D.; Horton, Holbrook L.; Ryffel, Henry H. (2000), Machinery's
Handbook (26th ed.), New York: Industrial Press Inc., ISBN 0-8311-2635-3.

External links

Metric coarse thread dimensions

Metric fine thread dimensions

Detailed metric thread dimensions

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