What Is The Difference Between A Lock Washer And A Retaining Washer?

The main difference between locking gasket and stopping gasket lies its anti-loosening principle, structural design and application scenarios. The specific analysis is as follows:
1.Principle of anti-loosening: Friction Enhancement. Mechanical Interlocking
Lock Washers
Friction enhancement: They utilize elastic deformation or a toothed structure to increase contact friction, offsetting loosening forces in threaded connections. For example:
Spring Washers: Spiral gaskets with incisions produce a spring effect when tightened, increasing friction between the nut and the connecting member to prevent loosening.
Internal and External Toothed Lock Washers: the tooth tips is connected with the nut surface and connecting components to enhance anti-loosening effectiveness through mechanical clamping.
Elastic Compensation: For example, elastic lock washers absorb vibration energy through their own elastic deformation, reducing the impact of load shock on connections, while compensating for material fatigue or deformation.
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Mechanical interlocking: Locking ear is connected to the keyways of the nut and shaft, forming a physical barrier that prevents the nut from moving axial or radial. For example:
Round nut locking gasket: The inner and outer locking ear of the gasket and joins the keygroove of the round nut opening and shaft to prevent the nut from rotating.
Ear lock gasket: The curved inner and outer ears are joined to the sides of the nut and connector respectively to prevent loosening.
ii. Structural Design: Elastic Deformation and? Rigid Retention
Lock washer
Elastic structures, such as the spiral ring cutting of spring gaskets and the wavy design of elastic lock washers, rely on elastic deformation to provide flexibility.
Tooth structure: The tips of the inner and outer locking gaskets bend in opposite directions, forming mechanical fixtures when they come into contact with the mating surface.
Lock washer
Rigid structures: The gasket themselves are inelastic, but curved locking ears provide mechanical fixation. For example:
Single ear locking gasket: one locking gasket bends and engages the nut groove while the other side touches the surface of the connecting part.
External tongue lock gasket: tongue convex engagement nut groove to prevent nut loosening. III. Application Scenario: Dynamic Load vs. Static Fixation
Lock Washers
Dynamic Load Applications: Used for long-term vibration, shock or alternating load connections of engine, motor, rail transit equipment, etc. For example:
Double-stack self-locking gasket: its crisscrossing toothed structure can maintain stable pretension even under high frequency vibration, and is more than four times more loosening resistance than traditional schemes.
Wedge self-locking gasket: Their interlocking wedge-shaped bevels converts bolt tension into frictional resistance, making it suitable for dynamic load applications such as tower flange wind turbines.
Lock Washers
Static Fixation: suitable for static connections requiring nut loosening, such as electrical appliances, elevators, machinery, etc.. For example:
Lock the circular nut gasket: fix rolling bearing to prevent the nut from loosening due to shaft rotation.
Double-ear Lock Washers: suitable for shock, vibration, high speed and other construction machinery drive shaft connection. Although they have reliable anti-loosening properties, they are complex and require assembly.