Torque conversion chart
The torque conversion chart: kilonewton metres down to millinewton metres, plus the kilopond metre. Edit, print and share.
The torque conversion chart in chain form: 1 kNm = 1 000 Nm, 1 Nm = 100 Ncm and 1 Ncm = 10 mNm, plus the kilopond metre from older machine plates. Made for the classroom and home.
| 1 kNm | = | 1 000 Nm |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kp·m | = | 9.80665 Nm |
| 1 Nm | = | 100 Ncm |
| 1 Nm | = | 1 000 mNm |
| 1 kNm | = | 1 000 000 mNm |
| 1 kNm | = | 100 000 Ncm |
| 1 Ncm | = | 10 mNm |
| 1 Nm | = | 0.001 kNm |
| 1 kp·m | = | 980.665 Ncm |
| 1 Ncm | = | 0.01 Nm |
How the table works
Every row is a unit conversion: a quantity and unit on the left, the same quantity expressed in another unit on the right. The table is live – drag the handle to reorder, click a row to change the quantity or units, remove rows with the cross and add your own at the bottom.
Everything you change lands in the page address. Copy the link and others open exactly your table – handy when the whole class needs the same sheet. Your changes are also kept in your browser until you reset them, but only there: to share or keep them permanently, the link is what counts.
Print puts the table on a single portrait A4 and Download PDF gives you the same sheet as a file. Print practice sheet gives the table with empty answer cells and name/date lines – the normal printout is the answer key.
A newton metre is not a joule
Torque and energy both come out as kg·m²/s² when written in base units, but they are different quantities. Energy is force along a distance. Torque is force at right angles to a lever arm. That is why torque is always written Nm and never J, however alike they look on paper.
Common mistake: assuming 1 Nm = 10 Ncm. Centi means one hundredth, so 1 Nm = 100 Ncm, exactly as between the metre and the centimetre.
The kilopond metre (kpm) lingers on older machinery: 1 kpm = 9.80665 Nm, just under ten times as much.
Roughly how much torque?
- Driving a screw by hand is roughly 2 Nm.
- Wheel bolts on a passenger car are tightened to roughly 120 Nm.
- A small electric motor may give 50 mNm.
- A truck engine gives several kNm.
Frequently asked questions
How many newton centimetres are in a newton metre?
100 Ncm. Centi is one hundredth.
What is kpm?
The kilopond metre, the torque unit on European machinery before SI. 1 kpm = 9.80665 Nm.
Are the newton metre and the joule the same unit?
No. Same dimension, different quantities: the joule is energy, the newton metre is torque.
More tables: Force · Energy · Prefix ladder · Torque converter