Dictionary Definition
cotter
Noun
1 a peasant farmer in the Scottish highlands
[syn: cottar]
2 a medieval English villein [syn: cottier]
3 fastener consisting of a wedge or pin inserted
through a slot to hold two other pieces together [syn: cottar]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɒtə(r)
Etymology 1
Noun
- In the context of "mechanical engineering": A pin or wedge inserted through a slot to hold machine parts together.
- Erroneously, sometimes used of a cotter pin.
Usage notes
The terms cotter and "cotter pin" are sometimes used interchangeably, although they have different functions. Basically a cotter holds parts together and a "cotter pin" holds the cotter in its place. For a more detailed explanation see Wikipedia articles on w cotter and w cotter pin.Translations
pin to hold parts together
- Finnish: tappi
cotter pin
- Finnish: sokka
Related terms
Etymology 2
Alternative spellings
Noun
- A peasant who performed labour in exchange for the right to live in a cottage.
Translations
peasant
- Finnish: torppari
Extensive Definition
In mechanical engineering a cotter is a pin or
wedge passing through a hole to fix parts tightly together.
Typical applications are in fixing a crank to
its crankshaft, as in
a bicycle, or a piston rod to
a crosshead, as in a
steam engine.
Popular Usage
Formerly, it was common to mount bicycle crank
arms using a cotter, though now usually a more easily
maintained arrangement is used such as a square tapered or splined
interface. These cotters have a short threaded
section at the narrower end of the taper, which is used to hold the
cotter in place with a washer
and nut.
Cotters in bicycles are frequently referred to as
cotter
pins, which correctly refers to a split pin, so named for its
use in retaining a cotter. Because bicycle cotters were normally
retained by a nut and washer, the distinction was unimportant in
this context.http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7GHr12q6mVQC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=cotter+pin+crank&source=web&ots=sOQ94MScq5&sig=VZHwjQWgWfTwjia0f-VOgTgsL1k&hl=en
In other contexts, the distinction is important:
a cotter is intended to take considerable shear loads, while a
cotter pin is not, having to be soft enough to allow it to secured
by being bent.