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I recently bought such screw:

enter image description here

and I would like to use that screw to mount some items on a PCB. Would it be possible to use any type of nut with such type of screws? If it is not the case, it is for sure I can use Hex screw and hex nut. Could you please tell me what other type of screws and nuts I can use?

sven
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    That is a wood screw. They cannot be used with nuts at all. – Connor Wolf Jul 02 '13 at 16:05
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    It's advertised for use with masonry and plastics as well as wood. But for use with a nut, you'd be better off with some machine screws instead. – The Photon Jul 02 '13 at 16:09
  • Thanks for the comments. I searched for machine screws on Farnell but their price are quite expensive comparing to that screw, it is like 200 of the above screw cost £2.25. Where as, the (cheapest one)[http://uk.farnell.com/gel-mec/scr10m3/fixing-bolt-m3-for-gvd-10series/dp/1422160] I could find on Farnell costs £2.2 for 11 of them. Do you know what type of screws and nuts are the cheapest option? – sven Jul 02 '13 at 16:18
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is not about electronic design – Leon Heller Jul 02 '13 at 16:33
  • @Kaz, is there a law that a nut cannot be produced for a wood screw? and be nice please.. – sven Jul 02 '13 at 16:45
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    In my limited understanding of screws, a nut only works for screws that stay a constant diameter and evenly spaced thread windings. Wood screws are pointy and the thread spacing varies. – microtherion Jul 02 '13 at 17:38
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    Try namrick, screwfix, or your local fastener / engineering supplier. – John U Jul 02 '13 at 17:50
  • This type of screw is not designed for a nut. I don't think that the twin thread feature means the thread pitch changes, rather the number of starts changes - to put it in EE terms, it starts with two cycles 180 degrees out of phase with each other, then drops one without changing the frequency. A nut would tolerate that, but this type of high lead (course pitch) thread and tapered tip is designed for soft materials, not nuts. – Chris Stratton Jul 02 '13 at 20:59
  • I'm not sure I agree with this post being closed since it is asking about fixture of items to PCBs, PCBs being, IMO, under the umbrella of electronics. However, even if that's clearly outside the topics of eletronics.se, why not move it to the more general purpose engineering.se, which allows mechanical eng questions? – SSilk Nov 24 '17 at 17:08
  • PS: That's a ridiculous screw for attaching stuff to a PCB. PCBs are generally <0.200" thick fiberglass, so even if you convince that screw to take hold of a hole drilled through a PCB, it's only going to get about 1 full thread seated. – SSilk Nov 24 '17 at 17:09

2 Answers2

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For certain types of circuit board, those screws are perfect, you don't need nuts.

enter image description here

For other types of circuit board, Nick is correct, The M series of screws are the most common type for that job and are therefore likely to be cheapest.

E.g. £1.68 for 100 M3 20mm. Or £0.65 for 10 with nuts from a hobbyist supplier

Community
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RedGrittyBrick
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  • Sorry to harp on semantics, and maybe the OP accidentally made his question too specific, but he asked if this would work for a PCB (Printed Circuit Board). The board you show is indeed a circuit board in the literal sense of being a circuit on a board, but I wouldn't consider it a PCB. No offense intended to your example though that's an awesome circuit. – SSilk Nov 24 '17 at 17:12
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M3 x 0.5 are, probably, the most common screws for electronics. That's what's used in computer cases the world over.

And then, there's this:

enter image description here

(with apologies to Gary Larson)

Nick Alexeev
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  • Nick Alexeev, forgive my english if you misunderstood me. I was not asking the common thread size. What I would like to learn is the screw type and its matching nut that would be low cost, like hex screw/nut or anything else? – sven Jul 02 '13 at 16:29
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    @sven: If you want a screw with a nut, you should look for "machine screw" and "hex nut". To me, a hex screw would have a hex head, to be turned by a wrench rather than a screwdriver. – Peter Bennett Jul 02 '13 at 17:11