M48×2 thread — 46 mm tap drill, 45.546 mm minor diameter
Fine
M48×2 is a fine thread: 48 mm across with a 2 mm pitch. The bolt’s minor diameter is 45.546 mm, the tap drill 46 mm and the stress area 1670.84 mm².
- Outside diameter
- 48 mm
- Pitch
- 2 mm (Fine)
- Pitch diameter
- 46.701 mm
- Minor diameter (bolt)
- 45.546 mm
- Minor diameter (nut)
- 45.835 mm
- Thread height
- 1.227 mm
- Stress area
- 1670.84 mm²
- Threads per inch
- 12.7
The thread is a 60° triangle
ISO defines the thread profile as an equilateral 60° triangle. Its height H is 0.866 × pitch, and every other diameter is that triangle cut back by a fixed fraction of H.
The stress area sets the strength
A bolt’s load capacity is worked out from this area, not from the outside diameter. It is the area of a circle whose diameter is the average of the pitch and minor diameters.
Other pitches at this diameter
A tighter pitch cuts shallower, leaving a thicker core. That is why fine threads suit thin walls and places that vibrate.
One size up and down
The 35 coarse threads
Each diameter has one default pitch. When someone just says “M8”, they mean M8×1.25.
How to read this
- The number after M is the outside diameter in mm; the number after × is the pitch in mm.
- H = 0.866 × pitch. The pitch diameter is d − 0.75H, the nut’s minor diameter d − 1.25H.
- Take the tap drill as outside diameter minus pitch, then pick the nearest drill you own.
- Load capacity comes from the stress area, not from the outside diameter.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What drill do I need to tap M48×2?
46 mm — the 48 mm outside diameter minus the 2 mm pitch. Use the nearest drill you have.
Q. What is the minor diameter of M48×2?
45.546 mm on the bolt and 45.835 mm in the nut, with the pitch diameter between them at 46.701 mm.
Q. Is it a coarse or a fine thread?
Fine. There is a coarse pitch for this diameter too, so the pitch must always be written out.
Q. How much load does it take?
Its stress area is 1670.84 mm². Multiply that by the bolt’s strength grade to get the load it carries.