A spring pin (also called tension pin or roll pin) is a mechanical fastener that secures the position of two or more parts of a machine relative to each other. Spring pins have a body diameter which is larger than the diameter of the hole they are intended for, and a chamfer on either one or both ends to facilitate starting the pin into the hole. The spring action of the pin allows it to compress as it assumes the diameter of the hole. The force exerted by the pin against the hole wall retains it in the hole, therefore a spring pin is considered a self retaining fastener.
Spring pins may be used to retain a shaft as a journal in a plain bearing, as a type of key to fasten one shaft to another, or to precisely fasten flat faces of mating parts together through symmetric hole locations.