Bolts - United States (US)

Federal Supply Class (FSC): 5306

NATO Supply Classification Class (NSC): 5306

Federal Supply Group (FSG): 53 Hardware and Abrasives

NATO Supply Classification Group (NSG): 53 Hardware and Abrasives

Items Managed by United States (US) - NCB is 00 to 09

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Bolts are a type of mechanical fastener designed with external threads. Bolts are used with a nut to join parts together using tightening torque. The torque creates surface pressure between the bolt thread and its mating nut thread. This surface pressure increases the friction between the two threads and this increasing friction makes it increasingly more difficult for the nut to move and release the torque separating the parts again. These fasteners are intended to be inserted through holes that are pre-drilled in the material being joined. Unlike screws, which are also externally threaded fasteners, nuts and bolts work together, meaning that bolts require a nut to be threaded on to it to function properly and require a drilled hole into which the bolt may be inserted.

The terms “bolting” or “types of bolting” are rarely used in connection with bolts in the context of fasteners, these terms being associated more with fabric bolting and bolting machines used in the fabric industry.