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Pins · ISO 8734 / DIN 6325 · Application guide

What Are Dowel Pins Used For?

Typical applications, the industries that specify dowel pins, and how to choose the right size, material and finish for the joint.

Dowel Pins are used for precise location and light shear duty between two parts. They are manufactured to ISO 8734 / DIN 6325, and selection is driven by the nominal diameter, the fit and tolerance the assembly requires, and the service environment.

Primary duty
Precise location and light shear duty between two parts
Governing standard
ISO 8734 / DIN 6325
Nominal diameter range
1 mm to 50 mm
Category
Pins

Application notes are general engineering guidance. Verify the property class and any approval requirement against your own design calculation.

What Are Dowel Pins Used For? application image

Application guide for Dowel Pins to ISO 8734 / DIN 6325. The core duty of the type is precise location and light shear duty between two parts. The typical industries, the how-to-specify checklist, assembly practice and the exclusion cases are set out below. Stocked across roughly 1 mm to 50 mm, they cover general to heavy-duty work.

Typical Applications for Dowel Pins

The most common settings where these are specified:

  • Linkages & hinges: pivot points carrying light shear.
  • Machine alignment: dowelling mating housings so they reassemble in the same position.
  • General machine building: fastening covers, brackets, motors and sub-assemblies on production equipment.
  • Maintenance & repair (MRO): a stocked size for servicing existing plant where the original fastener spec must be matched.
  • Fabrication & metalwork: bench and on-site assembly of steel frames, enclosures and weldments.

How to Specify Dowel Pins for Your Application

  • Size: Select on nominal diameter, then on the hole tolerance and fit class — the fit, not the diameter alone, determines whether the part locates or slips. This product spans 1 mm–50 mm; check the full table below for the exact dimensions of each size.
  • Material: Choose the material and finish for the service environment — plated steel for general use, stainless for corrosion resistance.
  • Environment: For damp, coastal or chemical exposure prefer A4/316 stainless or a suitable coating; indoors, plated steel or A2 is usually sufficient.
  • Standard: This product is supplied to ISO 8734 / DIN 6325. Quoting the standard on your order guarantees interchangeable dimensions between suppliers.

Installation & Assembly Practice

  • Ream the hole to the specified fit class; a dowel pressed into a drilled-only hole will not locate accurately.
  • Press pins in with steady force rather than hammer blows where possible, and chamfer the hole entry.

Common Selection Mistakes with Dowel Pins

  • Using a dowel pin as a load-carrying shear bolt — dowels locate, they are not sized for sustained shear.
  • Ignoring the fit class: a locational fit and an interference fit need different hole tolerances.

Where Dowel Pins Are Not the Right Choice

Not for carrying significant tensile or repeated heavy shear loads — use a bolt or a keyed joint for that.

Technical Drawing

Customize the parameters below — every spec field is editable, and the drawing redraws to match the values you choose. Changing the size will snap the other fields to that size's standard values; you can then override any individual value.

Sends the selected values to the quote form below.

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The form below follows the current technical drawing configuration. Change the drawing values above and the request details update automatically.

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Specification
Business Information

Dimensions & Specifications (ISO 8734 / DIN 6325)

Nominal diameter (mm)Diameter toleranceCommon length range (mm)MaterialHardnessReference standardNotes
1.0h64~10Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
1.2h64~12Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
1.5h64~16Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
2.0h66~20Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
2.5h66~24Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
3.0h68~30Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
4.0h68~40Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
5.0h610~50Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
6.0h612~60Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
8.0h616~80Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
10.0h620~100Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
12.0h625~120Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
16.0h630~160Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
20.0h635~200Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
25.0h645~200Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
30.0h650~200Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
40.0h660~200Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
50.0h680~200Alloy steelHardenedISO 8734 / DIN 6325Both ends chamfered, precision fit
Inside the plant

Manufactured in our own plant

This part is cold-formed, threaded, heat-treated and finished in-house. The stages below are where its class and finish are actually decided.

  1. Wire rod feeding into a cold heading machine
    01

    Cold heading

    Wire rod is drawn to size and cold-formed into blanks. Forming rather than cutting keeps the grain flow continuous around the head, which is where a bolt is most likely to fail.

    Head dimensions and under-head radius checked at set-up and per shift.

  2. Thread rolling machine producing bolt threads
    02

    Thread rolling

    Threads are rolled between hardened dies rather than cut. Rolled threads are stronger in fatigue than cut threads and hold pitch and flank angle far more consistently across a batch.

    Go / no-go ring gauges to ISO 965 tolerance class 6g.

  3. Baskets of bolts staged for heat treatment
    03

    Heat treatment

    Quench-and-temper brings carbon and alloy steel to the property class ordered — 8.8, 10.9 or 12.9 — with the furnace charge tracked so a finished lot can be traced back to it.

    Core hardness and tensile tested per lot to ISO 898-1.

  4. Zinc plated bolts in a treatment basket
    04

    Surface treatment

    Zinc, zinc-nickel, hot-dip galvanizing, black oxide, phosphate and Dacromet, selected against the service environment rather than against the price list.

    Coating thickness and neutral salt spray hours to ISO 9227.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Dowel Pins made to a recognized standard?

Yes — they are manufactured to ISO 8734 / DIN 6325, so dimensions are interchangeable between suppliers when you quote the standard on your order.

What are Dowel Pins used for?

Precise location and light shear duty between two parts. They are supplied to ISO 8734 / DIN 6325.

Which industries use Dowel Pins?

They are commonly specified in general machine building, maintenance & repair (mro) and fabrication & metalwork, among other sectors.

How do I choose the right size of Dowel Pins?

Select on nominal diameter and on the fit the assembly requires. This product is available from 1 mm to 50 mm; the full dimension table on this page lists each size.

Can I get a quote for Dowel Pins in the size and material I need?

Yes. Use the technical drawing and quote form on this page to set the size and options, then send the exact configuration to our team for pricing and lead time.