Inch-Pounds to Newton Metres Converter

Torque is a twisting or turning force — the rotational effect of a force applied at a distance from a pivot, equal to the force times the length of the lever arm. Its SI unit is the newton-metre (N·m), the torque of a one-newton force acting one metre from the axis. Torque appears everywhere machines turn: engine output, and the setting on a torque wrench when you tighten a bolt to specification. The imperial world uses the pound-force foot (written lb·ft or ft·lb), equal to 1.35582 N·m, for engine and fastener specs; the pound-force inch (lb·in) for smaller fasteners, where 1 lb·ft = 12 lb·in; and the ounce-force inch (oz·in) for small motors and electronics. Metric torque wrenches often show kilogram-force metre (kgf·m) or kilogram-force centimetre (kgf·cm), where 1 kgf·m = 9.80665 N·m. Structural engineering uses the kip-foot, and the CGS system contributes the tiny dyne-centimetre. One important subtlety: torque has the same dimensions as energy, so 1 N·m is numerically equal to 1 joule — but they are different physical quantities. Torque is a turning effect, energy is work done, and by convention torque is never written in joules. This converter deals only in torque units. Every one is stored as its exact number of newton-metres, so any conversion is just the input turned into newton-metres and then into the unit you want.