Now, I'm pretty sure you're not going to find fasteners made of pure zinc (typically that's an anti-corrosion coating on a steel fastener). You've also got needlessly vague terms like "alloy steel" and "stainless steel" in that list.
System of (hey they lowercase the of this time) Measurement: Inch, Metric, Number Gauge (wtf?), Wire Gauge. Wire Gauge. On a bolt? Ehhhh.
Do you want the square head bolt category? Square head style filter? External square drive style filter? What if I'm looking for fasteners for a non industrial or scientific use?
Fastener classification does tend to be a bit vague at best. Generally I find generic terms are used for low grade products, and often for products which you may struggle to find proper material certs for. Fine for general use home use, but no good in industrial engineering applications.
Id imagine that the problem is that software engineers don't understand hardware engineering, and it's actually not a space where a lot of good resources exist. I.e. without a little bit of familiarity with material science and industry, it's not just something you can easily google. You need an engineer familiar with the fastener industry if you want a chance for getting a decent system of classifications.
Also from a metric country, things like number and wire gauges are odd to me as well as I only occasionally have to deal with them.
If you are looking for fasteners for specific industrial use then I'd assume you would have the expertise to select the appropriate fastener or some internal engineering specification to follow. You don't just buy something from the scientific bolt category on Amazon. You may also require material certificates etc, which I don't believe is something these online options typically offer, though I may be wrong.
> Also from a metric country, things like number and wire gauges are odd to me as well as I only occasionally have to deal with them.
Well wire gauge is typically not how one would identify a bolt. Number wire gauge would typically be referred to by the units (either AWG or mm^2).
> If you are looking for fasteners for specific industrial use then I'd assume you would have the expertise to select the appropriate fastener or some internal engineering specification to follow.
Typically, yes although a friend was lamenting in the difficulty in finding a castle nut for an automotive application on the McMaster site.
> You don't just buy something from the scientific bolt category on Amazon. You may also require material certificates etc, which I don't believe is something these online options typically offer, though I may be wrong.
Well, McMaster offers will call (at one location) and offers phone support. The other folks Amazon is trying to compete with (Fastenal, Grainger, MSC) have a variety of B&M locations. I can't speak to material certification but I've purchased a certified caliper from Grainger no problem. Meanwhile Amazon still has the counterfeit issue to grapple with.
Yeah wire gauge fasteners is definitely weird, not something I've used, but from a quick look they exist, although I'm not sure if they get much use.
Castle nuts are a bit of an oddity too. Id assume your friend is possibly using them for trailer bearing retainers or possibly some really old suspension items. Not even sure there is really even a specification the ones available here seem to adhere to.
They are something I've generally gone out of my way to engineer out of a lot of applications as there is better options available.
The difference between zinc plated fasteners and hot dip galvanised fasteners is actually quite significant. Zinc is usually around the 20micron thickness possibly less, whilst galvanised is usually >60micron usually quite a bit more.
The process for applying the coatings as well as the end use of fasteners with the two coatings is also quite different.
> The difference between zinc plated fasteners and hot dip galvanised fasteners is actually quite significant
Yeah, but those aren't listed under coatings. They're listed under materials. And they certainly don't list the same variety of zinc coatings you could find at McMaster-Carr.
Example:
Materials: Alloy Steel, Brass, Carbon Steel, Galvanized Steel, Nylon, Plastic, Stainless Steel, Stainless Steel 18-8 (AZ), Stainless Steel 304, Stainless Steel 316 (A4), Steel, Zinc.
Now, I'm pretty sure you're not going to find fasteners made of pure zinc (typically that's an anti-corrosion coating on a steel fastener). You've also got needlessly vague terms like "alloy steel" and "stainless steel" in that list.
System of (hey they lowercase the of this time) Measurement: Inch, Metric, Number Gauge (wtf?), Wire Gauge. Wire Gauge. On a bolt? Ehhhh.
Do you want the square head bolt category? Square head style filter? External square drive style filter? What if I'm looking for fasteners for a non industrial or scientific use?