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Pins · ISO 1234 / DIN 94 · Application guide

What Are Split Cotter Pins Used For?

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

Split Cotter Pins are used for precise location and light shear duty between two parts. They are manufactured to ISO 1234 / DIN 94, 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 1234 / DIN 94
Nominal diameter range
0.6 mm to 13 mm
Category
Pins

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

What Are Split Cotter Pins Used For? application image

Application guide for Split Cotter Pins to ISO 1234 / DIN 94. 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 0.6 mm to 13 mm, they cover general to heavy-duty work.

Typical Applications for Split Cotter Pins

The most common settings where these are specified:

  • Jigs & fixtures: precise location of tooling plates and locating features.
  • 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.

How to Specify Split Cotter 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 0.6 mm–13 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 1234 / DIN 94. 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 Split Cotter 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 Split Cotter 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 1234 / DIN 94)

Nominal diameter (mm)Hole dia min (mm)Hole dia max (mm)Common length range (mm)MaterialReference standard
0.60.70.96~16Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
0.80.91.16~20Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
1.01.11.38~25Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
1.21.31.58~30Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
1.61.71.910~40Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
2.02.12.412~50Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
2.52.73.014~63Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
3.23.43.818~80Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
4.04.34.822~100Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
5.05.45.925~125Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
6.36.77.432~160Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
8.08.59.340~200Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
10.010.611.550~250Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94
13.013.814.963~315Low-carbon steel / stainlessISO 1234 / DIN 94

Video: What Are Split Cotter Pins Used For? in use

Third-party video, selected automatically for this topic. It is not produced by Engineering Hardware and is not a specification source — use the tables on this page for dimensional data.

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 Split Cotter Pins made to a recognized standard?

Yes — they are manufactured to ISO 1234 / DIN 94, so dimensions are interchangeable between suppliers when you quote the standard on your order.

What are Split Cotter Pins used for?

Precise location and light shear duty between two parts. They are supplied to ISO 1234 / DIN 94.

Which industries use Split Cotter Pins?

They are commonly specified in maintenance & repair (mro), fabrication & metalwork and jigs & fixtures, among other sectors.

How do I choose the right size of Split Cotter Pins?

Select on nominal diameter and on the fit the assembly requires. This product is available from 0.6 mm to 13 mm; the full dimension table on this page lists each size.

Can I get a quote for Split Cotter 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.