A guide to adjustable levelling feet
To help you understand adjustable feet, we’ve designed this guide to answer all of your questions. Here, we’ll cover:
What are adjustable feet?
You’ll come across different terms that often refer to adjustable levelling feet, with the most common being adjustable machine feet, adjustable screw feet and adjustable furniture feet.
The purpose of adjustable feet is essential to your application’s performance, but not all adjustable feet are levelling feet, even though the terms have become synonymous with each other. Typically, levelling feet give your application stability, ensuring that your application is mounted and levelled on uneven surfaces.
The top drawing is an example of tilting feet. The threaded stud provides a maximum articulation of 30 degrees. This enables you to make adjustments sideways to level your application on any floor.
The next example is of a fixed foot. That is, it has a rigid base with a threaded stud as a component. You can adjust the foot under your application’s load while the base remains stationary. In other words, you can adjust the foot vertically, but not sideways.
In that sense, it’s an adjustable foot, but not a levelling foot. You can make a height adjustment, but not level it on an uneven floor.
Both are commonly called levelling feet, however. What they share is the ability to make adjustments. Both screw feet are important and well suited to applications, but technically, they serve two different purposes.
When to use adjustable levelling feet
Adjustable feet have another purpose other than the ones we’ve already given. We’ll repeat them here and add the other use so that you have a summary of what they do.
1. Raise your application
Adjustable feet enable you to give your application added height and stability. This translates to durability for your application. If your application is machinery, such as conveyor systems, the adjustable threads act as supports, capable of performing as a mount. The result: necessary height adjustment can help your machines run smoothly while making operation easier for the user.
If you need to make frequent height adjustments – if your application is a portable rack, for example – adjustable feet enable you to raise or lower the rack to suit your needs.
2. Level your application on uneven ground
Your application needs to be level to operate as intended. Uneven floors commonly damage machines. Levelling the floor is always a good idea for heavier applications, but if that’s not possible, look at suitable levelling feet, specifically articulating and tilting feet to make the ideal adjustment you need
3. Reduce vibration and noise
Machines vibrate, and with vibration comes noise. Rubber adjustable feet dampen both. If the levelling feet you want doesn’t have a rubber base, then use rubber pads underneath.
These are also excellent at providing feet with friction to prevent any movement.
Types of adjustable levelling feet
Below are examples of our extensive range of threaded adjustable feet in different styles with their features. Available in a range of metric thread sizes and both plastic and metal materials.
Levelling feet – bolt down/low profile
- Durable, stud-mount levelling feet with an articulating, metal swivel base
- For mounting machinery or conveyors
- Stud manufactured for accuracy and strength of the thread
- Available in black, gold, nickel and natural
- Steel, stainless steel or rigid plastic base
- Zinc-plated or stainless-steel threaded stud
- Base-diameter range: 19.1 mm to 120 mm
Stud mount levelling feet – plastic swivel base
- Articulating swivel and large-diameter pads provide solid levelling and support
- Adjusts to uneven surfaces and level machine tools, electronic racks, and similar applications
- Polypropylene, polyethylene, polyamide, nylon or glass-filled nylon base
- Base-diameter range: 25 mm to 58 mm
Socket-mount levelling feet – metal swivel base
- Heavy-duty adjustable feet contain a hardened ball (except in stainless), which forms its own seat and resists galling
- 15° swivel to adjust to uneven surfaces
- Stainless steel, gold chromate or nickel-plated steel
- Variants support either stud or socket mounting
- Base-diameter range: 19.1 mm to 102 mm
Adjustable screw-in feet – non-articulating
- Effectively distributes weight evenly
- Provides stability to machinery – also ideal for electronics racks
- Also available: standard articulating and low-profile options with plastic swivel base with either 20° or 30° swivel articulation
- Polypropylene, polyamide or polyethylene
- Steel threaded stud
- Base-diameter range: 25 mm to 48 mm
- Ideal for food production industries and catering
- 30° maximum swivel articulation
- Black nylon base
- 304 Stainless steel threaded stud
- Base diameters: 40 mm or 65 mm
- Articulating swivel and large diameter pads provide solid levelling and support
- Ideal for levelling machine tools, electronic racks, and other equipment
- Polyamide base offers high-load capacity, chemical resistance and stability during temperature change
- Stainless steel stud
- Base diameter: 55 mm
Adjustable feet – chrome capped
- Attractive chrome metal cover shell
- Non-tilt design provides extra stability
- Polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, or stainless steel base
- Also available: low profile screw adjustable feet with bright zinc plated steel stud
- Base diameter range: 10 mm to 70 mm
- High-load capacity
- Ideal for conveyors and machines
- 8° articulation
- Stainless-steel bolt-down base for secure attachment to ground anchors
- 4 x 12.5mm fixing holes
- Use with pads to make these adjustable rubber feet
- Base diameter: 124 mm
Applications of adjustable feet
The examples we’ve just given show you some of the applications for adjustable levelling feet. As you can see, many industries rely on them. Here are some of the most common adjustable feet by industry:
Food, pharmaceutical and medical market
With USDA approval, this levelling foot is ideal for industries focussed on hygiene. Made of 304 stainless steel with a nitrile rubber base and blue silicone gaskets.
These materials can stand up to sterilisation and stringent cleaning chemicals. Ideal as industry adjustable feet for tables and machinery.
Industrial machinery
While the examples in the table showed you many choices for machine levelling feet, it’s worth noting this stud mount levelling foot. With a 303 stainless steel base and stud, it has a nitrile rubber core designed to absorb vibration – the enemy of machinery and its components.
It has a 7° articulation, and high adhesion to the floor. For additional stability, you can bolt the base to floors.
Electronics
Another excellent adjustable foot for electronic racks. This stud mount levelling foot is actually a great all-rounder. It’s another great choice for appliances, for example.
For electronic racks, the polypropylene base protects floors while providing electrical insulation.
Furniture
Adjustable table feet provide a stable base for tables while allowing for height adjustment. That’s the role of all furniture adjustable feet, be it for cabinets, chairs, an office desk, you name it.
The stud mount levelling foot shown here makes excellent screw-in feet for furniture. They’re an economical solution for lighter weight applications, such as office furniture, shelving cabinetry, small equipment – even point-of-sale displays.
Consumer appliances
This example is also a good option for furniture adjustable feet. With a plastic LDPE rigid base and steel thread, this foot protects floors from abrasions, which is especially useful when you’re designing high-performance appliances and other heavy-duty applications that need support.
Like so many of the examples above, it’s also great for mounting machinery and conveyor systems.
How to measure adjustable feet
To install adjustable feet correctly, you need to measure them for base diameter, thread length and thread size. We explain how to do this in our Guide to levelling feet.
Note: adjustable feet and levelling feet are measured the same way, so just follow the steps we’ve given.
Adjustable feet weight guide
When we talk about weight, what we really mean is load capacity, or maximum loading. A few manufacturers call this weight rating. We explain the steps for calculating how much static load that adjustable feet can support in our Guide to levelling feet.
The guide helps you determine the load in both metric and imperial systems.
Download free CADs and try before you buy
Free CADs are available for most solutions, which you can download. You can also request free samples for some solutions to make sure you’ve chosen exactly what you need. If you’re not quite sure which adjustable or levelling feet – or another type of feet – will work best for your application, our experts are always happy to advise you.
If you’re designing a machine, equipment or a certain type of furniture, you might also need to choose hinges. If so, you can find support in our guide Types of Hinges & Where to Use Them.
Whatever your requirements, you can depend on fast despatch. Request your free samples or download free CADs now.
Questions?
Email us at sales@essentracomponents.co.uk or speak to one of our experts for further information on the ideal solution for your application 0345 528 0474.