# Split nut

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_nut
> Source revision: 1152542730
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{short description|Nut divided into two halves for moving along a screw without turning}}

A '''split nut''' is a [nut](/source/nut_(hardware)) that is split lengthwise into two pieces (opposed halves) so that its [female](/source/gender_of_connectors_and_fasteners) thread may be opened and closed over the [male](/source/gender_of_connectors_and_fasteners) thread of a [bolt](/source/Bolt_(fastener)) or [leadscrew](/source/leadscrew).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allfasteners.com/split-nut|title=Patented Heavy Hex Split Nut|date=|access-date=2020-03-29}}</ref> This allows the nut, when open, to move along the screw without the screw turning (or, vice versa, to allow the screw to pass through the nut without turning). Then, when the nut is closed, it resumes the normal movement of a nut on a screw (in which axial travel is linked to [rotational](/source/rotation_around_a_fixed_axis) travel)

A split nut assembly is often used in positioning systems, for example in the [leadscrew](/source/leadscrew) of a [lathe](/source/metal_lathe). It is one of the [machine element](/source/machine_element)s that makes [single-point threading](/source/threading_(manufacturing)) practical on manual (non-[CNC](/source/numerical_control)) lathes. The very earliest [screw-cutting lathe](/source/screw-cutting_lathe)s (in the late 18th and early 19th centuries) did not have them, but within a few decades, split nuts were common on lathes.

The two halves of the nut have [chamfer](/source/chamfer)ed ends (60° to the axis), which helps the threads to find engagement during the closing action. Usually, the screw and nut are also [oiled for lubrication](/source/lubricant). Such provisions prolong the service life of the threads by minimizing [wear](/source/wear).

Split nuts work best with [trapezoidal thread](/source/trapezoidal_thread)s.<ref>{{cite book|last=V B|first=Bhandari|title=Introduction to machine design|publisher=Tata McGRAW hill|pages=619}}</ref>

Split nuts may not engage and disengage with [multi start threads](/source/Screw_thread) due to the overlapping leads.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Nuts (hardware)}}

Category:Nuts (hardware)

{{Mech-engineering-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Split nut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_nut) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_nut?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.