List of screw drives

The slotted screw is commonly found in existing products and installations, along with use in simple carpentry work and in applications where minimal torque is needed.

The tool used to drive a slot is called a common blade, flat-blade, slot-head, flat-tip[3] or flat-head / flathead[5] screwdriver.

ISO 2380-1[4] specifies the internationally standardized shape and dimensions of the tips of screwdrivers for slotted-head screws as well as the minimum test torque the blade-to-handle connection shall withstand.

They are often used on items where the user is not likely to have a screwdriver when needed, such as recessed screws that attach cameras to tripod adapters, and battery compartments in some equipment such as children's toys.

The Type II (Conical/Connie) design adds a conical cup that receives a centering pin on the driver, improving the alignment of the driving tool to the fastener recess.

The main practical difference is that Supadriv has superior bite when driving screws into vertical or near-vertical surfaces, making screwdriving more efficient, with less cam-out.

A Phillips screwdriver has the same 26.5 degree cone angle but because of the tapered slots will not seat fully, and will damage the screw if forced.

A correctly sized JIS driver will engage at full depth into a Phillips or Pozidriv head screw slightly loosely, but without damage.

Another entity called Reed & Prince Manufacturing Corporation, now of Leominster, Massachusetts, purchased some of the assets including the name at the liquidation sale.

It is designed to be a lightweight, low-profile and high-strength drive, with full contact over the entire recess wing, reducing risk of stripping.

[34] This low recess was able to create a shorter head height compared to other screws at the time of its development, which in turn reduced the weight of this drive type.

The socket-headed Robertson screws reduce cam-out, stop a power tool when set, and can be removed if painted over or old and rusty.

[15]: 85–86 The LOX-Recess screw drive was invented by Brad Wagner, and fasteners using it are distributed by licensees Hitachi, Dietrick Metal Framing, and Grabber.

The design is similar to that of the double-square, in both cases the idea being that it resembles a square (Robertson) but can be engaged at more frequent angles by the driver bit.

They are potentially capable of allowing more torque than a six-point, but greater demands are placed on the metallurgy of the heads and the tools used, to avoid rounding off and slippage.

[47] [48] As early as 2005, the German screw manufacturer Altenloh, Brinck & Co introduced a similar driver design under the trade name Spax T-Star plus.

For example, Compaq, HP, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) use this type to combine the benefits of Torx in manufacturing and the commonality of flat drive in field repair situations.

An advantage of external drive fasteners is that they lack a recess in the head, which can collect water, dirt, or paint, which can interfere with later insertion of a driver tool.

Also, some external drives can be engaged from the side, without requiring large inline clearance for tool access, which allows their use in tight spaces such as engines or complex pipework.

Compared to Allen hex sockets, the advantages of these bolts include higher torque capability and the lack of a recess to trap water.

Most tamper-resistant screw configurations rely on the common unavailability of corresponding drivers to reduce the likelihood of widespread tampering.

This type of bolt is commonly used with prison door locks, automobile ignition switches, and street signs, to prevent easy removal.

One-way screws are commonly used in commercial restroom fixtures and on vehicle registration plates, to prevent unauthorised tampering.

For further security, there are custom-designed fastener heads requiring matching drivers available only from the manufacturer and only supplied to registered owners, similar to keyed locks.

The spanner[79] or Snake-Eyes (trademarked)[80] screw drive uses two round holes (sometimes two slots; the same driver bits work in both types) opposite each other and is designed to prevent tampering.

The US military's M17 and M18 service pistols (variants of the SIG Sauer P320) use spanner screws to dissuade disassembly of the handgun beyond normal field maintenance except by the authorized armorer; they have also been used previously for reinforcement screws on the M14 rifle in order to secure the front locking tab on the magazine well, and are commonly found on the recoil lug of surplus rifles.

These screws are often found in children's toys from fast food restaurants, as well as vacuum cleaners, fan heaters, elevators, camping stoves, golf clubs, electric kettles and Master Locks, among others.

These specialized screws are usually used on electronics equipment, including some Nintendo handheld hardware, Sanyo and Kyocera cellular telephones, and Fuji digital cameras.

Tri-groove or T-groove is a design for a security screw with a flat-topped conical head and three short radial slots that do not join in the center.

[90][91] The design was adopted by some parts of the aerospace industry, led by Lockheed in the early 1970s on the L-1011, but met with mixed results due to complaints of insert damage during installation.