Scalloped nut and method of construction

A sheet metal nut comprising:

• a tubular barrel portion,
• a plurality of radially outwardly extending outer lobes extending axially along said barrel portion and defining a outside diameter of said barrel portion,
• a plurality of radially inwardly extending inner lobes extending axially along said barrel portion circumferentially between said outer lobes, and defining an inside diameter of said barrel portion,
• said outer lobes defining circumferentially spaced voids between said inner lobes at said inside diameter,
• an internal lobe thread formed on the radially inner surface of said inner lobes at said inside diameter,
• said internal lobe thread extending partially circumferentially into the voids defined by the adjacent ones of said outer lobes,
• said internal lobe thread having a circumferential arcuate thread length of around 65% to around 70% of the circumference of said inside diameter,
• said internal lobe thread having a substantially full and generally constant radial depth over substantially all of said circumferential arcuate thread length.

A sheet metal nut having an internal thread formed by a form tap for application onto the mating thread of an associated male threaded member, said sheet metal nut comprising:

• a tubular barrel portion,
• a plurality of radially outwardly extending outer lobes extending axially along said barrel portion and defining a outside diameter of said barrel portion,
• a plurality of radially inwardly extending inner lobes extending axially along said barrel portion circumferentially between said outer lobes, and defining an inside diameter of said barrel portion,
• said outer lobes defining circumferentially spaced voids between said inner lobes at said inside diameter,
• an internal lobe thread formed on the radially inner surface of said inner lobes at said inside diameter,
• an internal lobe thread extending partially circumferentially into the voids defined by the adjacent ones of said outer lobes,
• said internal lobe thread having a circumferential arcuate thread length of around 65% to around 70% of the circumference of said inside diameter,
• said internal lobe thread formed to be at substantially 100% of the thread volume defined by the form tap and hence having a substantially full and generally constant radial dept over substantially all of said circumferential arcuate thread length.

A fastening system including:

• (a) a sheet metal nut member comprising:
• a tubular barrel portion,
• a plurality of radially outwardly extending outer lobes extending axially along said barrel portion and defining a outside diameter of said barrel portion,
• a plurality of radially inwardly extending inner lobes extending axially along said barrel portion circumferentially between said outer lobes, and defining an inside diameter of said barrel portion,
• said outer lobes defining circumferentially spaced voids between said inner lobes at said inside diameter,
• an internal lobe thread formed on the radially inner surface of said inner lobes at said inside diameter,
• said internal lobe thread extending partially circumferentially into the voids defined by the adjacent ones of said outer lobes,
• said internal lobe thread having a circumferential arcuate thread length of around 65% to around 70% of the circumference of said inside diameter, and
• (b) a male threaded member having a mating thread for threadable engagement with said internal lobe thread,
• said internal lobe thread having a substantially full radial depth over substantially all of said circumferential arcuate thread length with said full radial depth being substantially 90% of the available volume of said mating thread on said male threaded member.