Ask The Expert: What Are JIS Specs?
The simple answer is that JIS is an abbreviation for Japanese Industrial Standards. JIS specs are standards that are issued by the Japanese industrial standards committee for industrial applications in Japan.
When it comes to metric fastener standards, the answer becomes a little more complicated. As a supplier of metric fasteners, Earnest offers a wide variety of fasteners that are designed to meet the original equipment manufacturer’s specifications. Manufacturers from different regions of the world will reference fastener specs based on their local standards organizations. Equipment that is manufactured in Japan is typically assembled with fasteners that meet JIS standards.
There are four main standards organizations for metric fasteners that original equipment manufacturers can specify to assemble their products:
ISO - International Standards Organization
ANSI - American National Standards Institute
DIN - German Industrial Norms
JIS - Japanese Industrial Standards
The thread tolerancing and fastener strength levels are interchangeable between all of these fastener organizations. So a bolt made to a DIN standard can be assembled with a nut made to an ISO spec (of the same diameter and thread pitch) and an ANSI property class 10.9 bolt is the same strength level as a JIS property class 10.9 bolt.
Where you encounter differences in these standards are in the width across the flats of the head, the thickness tolerance of the head or nut and, in the case of flange products, the diameter of the flange. Fasteners made to the different standards require a different wrench size to assemble them and require different clearances or spacing depending on the standard the fasteners have been made to.
You can count on Earnest to know the differences between the fasteners made to each of these standards and assist you in ensuring you receive the right product for you specific application.