10.4mm x 14mm x 5mm Spacers - Steel - (EN1A) Description
The 10.4mm x 14mm x 5mm Spacers - Steel - (EN1A) has the following features:
- Natural Finish
- Inside Diameter (ID): 10.4 mm
- Inside Diameter (ID) Tolerance: ±0.1 mm
- Length (L): 5 mm
- Length (L) Tolerance: ±0.1 mm
- Manufacturing Standard: Not Standardised
- Steel - (EN1A)
- Steel Material Family
- Outside Diameter (OD): 14 mm
- Outside Diameter (OD) Tolerance: ±0.4 mm
- System of Measurement: Metric
- To Suit Screw Size: M10 (10 mm)
Discover more about the Spacers range.
Spacers, also known as cylindrical spacers, round spacers, screw spacers or bolt spacers, are a staple of Accu's Washers & Spacers range, used to hold two components a fixed, repeatable distance apart. Each one is a plain, unthreaded sleeve: a short cylinder with a smooth through-hole and two flat, parallel end faces. Unlike a threaded standoff, it has no hex flats or internal threads. Because the screw or bolt passes straight through the bore, a single fastener both locates the part and clamps the assembly, so the gap it creates stays exactly where it was set.
Every product in the range is RoHS and REACh compliant, which makes them straightforward to specify in electrical and electronic equipment. They are most widely used in electronics, where PCB spacers and PCB standoff spacers lift circuit boards clear of metal chassis plates, but the same principle applies to control panels, sensor brackets and instrument enclosures.
How Spacers Work
Installation is simple: a screw or bolt passes through the bore and the parts on either side, then tightens into a nut or tapped hole. The bore is a clearance fit rather than a thread, sized slightly over the fastener's major diameter. In the metal range, an M6 spacer has a 6.4 mm bore and an M8 spacer an 8.4 mm bore, so the screw slides through freely. As the fastener is tightened, the clamping force travels through the flat end faces and puts the sleeve in compression, locking its length into the joint as the gap between the two parts. Length tolerance matters more than anything else on screw spacers and bolt spacers, so Accu holds it to ±0.1 mm across most of the range.
A typical example is the main control board inside an industrial controller, mounted onto the aluminium chassis plate of its enclosure. An M3 cap head screw passes down through each corner hole of the PCB, through a nylon spacer with a 3.2 mm bore and into a tapped hole in the plate. Those four sleeves hold the underside of the board clear of the metal, so the soldered leads of through-hole components cannot touch the chassis and air can circulate beneath the board to carry heat away. Without them, the board would be clamped flat against the plate, shorting its joints to earth or flexing as the screws are tightened until solder joints crack.
Materials Spacers Are Made From
Accu's range is manufactured from engineering-grade plastics and metals, each selected for a specific balance of electrical insulation, strength, weight and corrosion resistance:
- Plastic - Nylon: Lightweight and electrically insulating, nylon spacers come in specifications including Nylon 66 / Polyamide, Nylon 6 / Polyamide and Glass Fibre Reinforced Nylon PA6 GF25, with many grades rated UL94 V-2 or UL94 HB.
- Plastic - POM: Acetal / Polyoxymethylene combines low friction with low moisture absorption and good dimensional stability, with grades rated UL94 HB or UL94 V-0 and selected parts rated for continuous use at 95 °C.
- Plastic - PS: Polystyrene is a rigid, economical choice for light-duty insulating applications, rated UL94 HB.
- Plastic - PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride rated UL94 V-0, so it self-extinguishes, with good resistance to moisture and many chemicals.
- Aluminium - (Grade 6082-T6): A heat-treated structural alloy that gives aluminium spacers a high strength-to-weight ratio and natural corrosion resistance.
- Brass: Machined largely from CZ121 free-cutting brass, these are conductive and corrosion resistant, making them suited to earthing paths where the part needs to carry current.
- Stainless Steel - (303): Free-machining SS 303 / ASTM A582 gives stainless steel spacers high strength and good corrosion resistance, ideal in assemblies where moisture rules out plain steel.
- Steel - (EN1A): Free-cutting mild steel makes steel spacers rigid and cost-effective, suited to dry environments with minimal potential for corrosion.
Finishes are chosen for identification, colour matching or surface protection:
- Natural: The material's own surface with no added colour or coating, used on nearly all of the metal range and much of the nylon and POM range.
- Black: Nylon and POM options that blend into dark enclosures and front panels.
- White: Nylon and polystyrene options for light-coloured assemblies.
- Light Grey: The standard colour of the PVC range.
- Nickel Plated: Brass with a bright, harder-wearing surface that resists tarnishing.
Sizes & Types of Spacers Available
Accu's range of spacers is available in a wide spread of sizes and material types, from miniature plastic spacers for electronics to metal spacers for M16 bolts:
- Inside Diameter (ID): 0.7 mm to 25 mm.
- Outside Diameter (OD): 2.2 mm to 39 mm.
- Length (L): 1 mm to 60 mm.
- To Suit Screw Size: M2 (2 mm) to M16 (16 mm).
- Material Family: Plastic, Aluminium, Brass, Stainless Steel and Steel.
The metal options stop at a 16.5 mm bore, so larger bores up to 25 mm are covered by the nylon range. Anything outside the standard sizes can be produced through Accu's Custom Manufacture service.
To complete the joint, spacers are commonly paired with Metric Socket Cap Head Screws, with Flat Washers added beneath for fine height adjustment. As an alternative, where a board or panel needs fixing from one side only or removing without access to a nut behind it, browse Accu's range of Threaded Standoffs, which carry threads at each end so they fix in place independently.
FAQ
Q: What does "spacers" mean?
A: In engineering, spacers are components that hold two parts a set distance apart. The term usually refers to a plain cylindrical sleeve that a screw or bolt passes through, so its length defines the gap once the fastener is tightened. Typical uses include lifting circuit boards off chassis plates and creating clearance behind brackets, panels and covers.
Q: What are the two types of spacers?
A: The two main types are plain spacers and threaded standoffs. Plain versions, like those in this range, have a smooth clearance bore and rely on a separate screw with a nut or tapped hole to clamp them in place. Threaded standoffs, often called PCB standoff spacers or hexagon spacers, have threads at each end so they can be fixed independently, which is useful when one side of an assembly cannot be reached. Accu stocks both, with standoffs available in its Threaded Standoffs range.
Q: What are the downsides of spacers?
A: A plain sleeve cannot hold itself in place, so it needs a through fastener and access to both sides of the joint, which adds parts and assembly time compared with a threaded standoff. Plastic versions can creep under a sustained clamping load, particularly at higher temperatures, gradually reducing bolt preload. Nylon also absorbs moisture, which can change its dimensions slightly. Metal versions avoid those problems but conduct electricity, so they cannot insulate a circuit board from its chassis. Stacking several also stacks their length tolerances, so a single part of the right length is more accurate than a combination.
