To convert inch-pounds to newton-meters (in·lb to N·m), multiply by 0.11298. 1 inch-pound equals 0.11298 N·m.
| inch-pounds | newton-meters |
|---|---|
| 1 inch-pound | 0.11298 N·m |
| 2 inch-pounds | 0.22597 N·m |
| 5 inch-pounds | 0.56492 N·m |
| 10 inch-pounds | 1.1298483 N·m |
| 25 inch-pounds | 2.8246207 N·m |
| 50 inch-pounds | 5.6492415 N·m |
| 100 inch-pounds | 11.298483 N·m |
| 250 inch-pounds | 28.246207 N·m |
| 500 inch-pounds | 56.492415 N·m |
| 1000 inch-pounds | 112.98483 N·m |
Definition: The turning force from one pound of force applied at the end of a one-inch lever arm - twelve times smaller than a foot-pound, since a foot is twelve inches.
History: It exists for the same reason a ruler has both inches and feet: foot-pounds give clumsy, awkward numbers for small torque values, so mechanics and engineers working on delicate components switched to a shorter lever-arm unit that reads in comfortable whole numbers instead.
Current use: Small fasteners, electronics, bicycle components, and precision assembly. Mixing this up with foot-pounds is a genuinely common and expensive mistake - setting a wrench to the wrong one applies 12 times the intended torque.
Definition: The turning force from one newton of force applied at the end of a one-meter lever arm - what you feel when you tighten a bolt with a wrench.
History: Named for Isaac Newton, whose second law of motion underpins the newton itself as a force unit. Pairing it with a meter of leverage gives the SI's standard way to measure torque, the rotational cousin of ordinary force.
Current use: European and Asian car manuals, bicycle component specs, and virtually all modern engineering torque specifications outside the US.
The factor is 0.112985, which is derived rather than defined, so any decimal you see has been rounded somewhere.
No simple round multiplier is close enough to be useful, so this is one to look up rather than estimate. The exact factor is 0.112985.
Going the other way, one newton-meter is 8.851 in·lb, which is usually the easier direction to work in. Because the forward factor is small, watch the decimal place rather than the digits: a factor-of-ten slip is the common error, not a rounding one.
To anchor the scale: 10 inch-pounds is about 1.13 N·m.