Bold and Nut

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Designers craft robust nuts using CAD software. Bolts frequently form bolted joints by applying axial clamping force with the nut and pinning the joint against sideways shear forces with their shank acting as a dowel. Many bolts feature a plain unthreaded shank - known as the grip length - which makes for a stronger dowel, thus improving overall performance. The presence of an unthreaded shank is often seen in bolts rather than screws, but this distinction is primarily incidental and not definitive.