Threadlockers

Henkel is continuously upgrading its engineering adhesives to improve performance characteristics and extend their scope of use, but the company’s ongoing development programme isn’t solely focused on adhesive formulation. 

LOCTITE 243 is a medium strength threadlocker that secures all types of threaded fasteners like nuts, bolts and studs, at the same time sealing them against corrosion. While there are naturally exceptions in some cases, LOCTITE 243 will be suitable for the vast majority of standard threadlocking applications and you are unlikely to need another grade very often.

Threadlocking adhesives have a long and successful history in many industry segments, and there is now growing evidence to suggest the renewable energy sector is increasing its uptake of these advanced products. Among the drivers behind this notable trend at wind farms is the fear of vibration loosening and corrosion, effects that often lead to the catastrophic failure of conventional mechanical locking devices such as spring washers, nylon ring nuts and flat washers.

Henkel, whose brands include LOCTITE^®, is on a mission to demonstrate the importance of locking threaded assemblies against vibrational self-loosening and has released a powerful new video and education guide to support this initiative.

There are several different methods of addressing the problem of self-loosening and most of them include the use of mechanical devices to lock threads and maintain the desired clamp load.  Common solutions are a double nut that increases contact through more thread interface, a spring washer to increase bolt tension through its spring action or a nylon insert which creates interference between itself and the bolt threads.

The limitation of all these methods is that none tackle the gap that exists between the threads of the bolt and nut.  The gap appears tiny to the naked eye, but it is still large enough to allow side to side movement of the bolt within the nut caused by operational vibrations.  This movement...