Nuts and Bolts: Part I of II

I have been changing topics frequently trying to hit on something that would spur a discussion. Now, I will talk about the “nuts and bolts” of mounting — literally. This is relevant because joints hold the three parts of a mount together using fasteners. A reliable way of holding parts together is fastening with screws and bolts. The way to classify screw and bolt sizes are by their threads — the bumps that you feel when you rub your finger on threaded screws.

Industries that fasten things with screws and bolts developed standard sizes to make it easier, more precise and cheaper to produce them. For example, the lighting industry has two main standard thread sizes — 3/8”-27 and ?”-18. Furthermore, in the cable and satellite TV industry the “F” connector, known as the co-ax connector, uses the 3/8”-32 standard.

Photography uses ?”-20 which means that the screw diameter is ? of an inch, ”, and there are 20 threads per inch. The screw can be of any length, even less than an inch. The screw threads into a nut that must match the ?”-20 screw standard. This type of fastening is extremely strong since the threads of each part rotate and bite into each other, as many times as there are threads.

The main disadvantage of threaded screws is, as the name screw suggests, is the motion required to engage the screw and the nut. One must hold the nut and then turn the screw in circle, which engages the parts. This screwing movement can be painful, uncomfortable and slow.

In Part II, I will discuss how manufacturers fasten together mobile device mounts.

Stephen Frank; CVI; Holdware