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Pins · Trade series (shear-hub pins) · Application guide

What Are Hub Shear Pins Used For?

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

Hub Shear Pins are used for protecting a hub or drive by failing at a specified shear neck and replacement torque. They are manufactured to Trade series (shear-hub pins), and selection is driven by the screw size, the fit and tolerance the assembly requires, and the service environment.

Primary duty
Protecting a hub or drive by failing at a specified shear neck and replacement torque
Governing standard
Trade series (shear-hub pins)
Screw size range
1 to 3/4
Category
Pins

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

What Are Hub Shear Pins Used For? application image

Hub Shear Pins are used primarily for protecting a hub or drive by failing at a specified shear neck and replacement torque. This page lists the industries and assemblies where they are specified, the selection criteria that matter for each application, installation practice, and the cases where a different fastener type is the correct choice. Parts are supplied to Trade series (shear-hub pins). Stocked across roughly 1 to 3, they cover light-duty and instrument-scale work.

Typical Applications for Hub Shear Pins

The most common settings where these are specified:

  • Power transmission: Hub shear pins protect a shaft train by failing at a selected torque.
  • Agricultural machinery: Replaceable pins protect implements from overload.
  • Conveyors and drives: Neck diameter sets the intended sacrificial point.
  • Maintenance shops: Stock lengths and torque examples support field replacement.

How to Specify Hub Shear Pins for Your Application

  • Size: Select on screw size, and confirm it against the mating feature in the assembly. This product spans 1–3; 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 Trade series (shear-hub pins). 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 Hub Shear 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 Hub Shear 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.

Request a Quote

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 (Trade series (shear-hub pins))

Pin diameter (in)Stock length options (in)Neck diameter range (in)Example torque range (inu00b7lbf)MaterialFunction
1/41-1/8 / 1-5/8 / 1-7/8 / 2-1/8 / 2-5/83/32~3/4930 / 1600 / 2590 / 373012L14 or 1215 carbon steeldesigned shear point in a hub
3/81-1/8 / 1-5/8 / 1-7/8 / 2-1/8 / 2-5/83/32~5/161340~1495012L14 or 1215 carbon steeldesigned shear point in a hub
1/21-1/8 / 1-5/8 / 1-7/8 / 2-1/8 / 2-5/812L14 or 1215 carbon steeldesigned shear point in a hub
3/41-1/8 / 1-5/8 / 1-7/8 / 2-1/8 / 2-5/812L14 or 1215 carbon steeldesigned shear point in a hub
11-1/8 / 1-5/8 / 1-7/8 / 2-1/8 / 2-5/812L14 or 1215 carbon steeldesigned shear point in a hub
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

What are Hub Shear Pins used for?

Protecting a hub or drive by failing at a specified shear neck and replacement torque. They are supplied to Trade series (shear-hub pins).

Which industries use Hub Shear Pins?

They are commonly specified in power transmission, agricultural machinery and conveyors and drives, among other sectors.

How do I choose the right size of Hub Shear Pins?

Select on screw size and on the fit the assembly requires. This product is available from 1 to 3; the full dimension table on this page lists each size.

What material should Hub Shear Pins be for outdoor use?

For damp, coastal or chemical environments specify A4 (316) stainless or a suitably coated steel. For indoor or dry use, A2 (304) stainless or zinc-plated steel is normally adequate.

Can I get a quote for Hub Shear 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.