Threaded fasteners offer a simple and effective way to connect multiple objects. You can drive a threaded fastener through the objects, followed by attaching a nut onto the end of the fastener. The bolt-and-nut assembly will create a clamping force, essentially squeezing and holding the objects together.
Not all nuts are the same, however. Floating barrel nuts, for instance, don’t feature the same hexagonal shape as traditional nuts. Instead, they feature a cylindrical shape. To learn more about floating barrel nuts and how they work, keep reading.
What Are Floating Barrel Nuts?
Floating barrel nuts are barrel-shaped captive fasteners with a threaded insert. Like all nuts, they are used to connect two or more objects. Floating barrel nuts feature interior threading that mates with the exterior threading of a bolt. The difference is that floating barrel nuts aren’t completely stationary or fixed. They “float” in the sense that they allow a limited amount of movement.
How Floating Barrel Nuts Work
Floating barrel nuts act as a free-floating receptacle for a bolt. You can install them in a mounting bracket or specialized fitting. Once in place, the threaded barrel moves slightly. It should still stay in the mounting bracket or fitting, but pushing the threaded barrel in a particular direction should move it in that direction.
You can then place a bolt through the objects that need to be joined. Next, you can twist the bolt into the open barrel. Assuming the bolt and floating barrel nut have matching threads, they should easily connect to create a strong clamping force.
Reasons to Use a Floating Barrel Nut
Why should use a floating barrel nut instead of a traditional hex nut? By allowing a limited amount of movement, floating barrel nuts don’t require perfect alignment. They will shift as you position the bolt. This shifting action will allow the bolt to mate with the nut — even if they aren’t perfectly aligned before their respective threads engage each other.
Floating barrel nuts support blind installations. Traditional nuts typically require access to the area behind the bolt. If you can’t access this area, you won’t be able to twist the nut onto the end of the bolt. With a floating barrel nut, though, you don’t need rear access.
Many floating barrel nuts also feature a locking mechanism. You can find them in prevailing torque styles, for instance. Prevailing torque floating barrel nuts feature a nylon insert or deformed threads to prevent unintentional loosening. Those with a nylon insert have a ring of nylon that deforms during installation. Floating barrel nuts with deformed threads, on the other have, have a band of distorted threads near the top that grip the bolt during installation.