
List of screw drives - lisper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#Tri-wing
======
ork
I always tinkered with electronics as a kid, and these protections against
tampering were easily defeated by melting the cap of a bic pen with a lighter.
Build your tools :)

~~~
mrweasel
I find it sort of amusing that the idea of a "security torx" is that people
won't be able to insert a flat or regular torx. Every bit set I've seen the
last 10 years have had security torx included, so beating the "security" just
require a trip to the hardware store.

~~~
dfc
We must buy different bit sets. I go through a lot of dewalt bit sets in all
shapes and sizes of plastic yellow boxes and I have never seen a security torx
bit included. What bit sets do you purchase?

~~~
nsxwolf
I have a handy little computer repair set made by Tekton[1]. All its Torx bits
are security ones. (note they call them "Star" and "Tamper Star" for trademark
reasons I suppose)

[http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009MKGRQA](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009MKGRQA)

------
imglorp
I understand why Apple and others put exotic fasteners on their products, and
why they rotate their shields periodically. The business case is simple: a
small investment in screwdrivers for your repair shops and factories results
in larger profits after market.

But as a consumer, I can't accept the loud and clear, customer hostile, F-U
message.

I also find their position shortsighted in terms of customer good will. How
many are turned off and go elsewhere?

~~~
joezydeco
Given their recent sales numbers, not very many.

~~~
Paperweight
I think that innovators and early adopters care.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_lifecycle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_adoption_lifecycle)

~~~
joezydeco
I know a lot of early adopters and I've never seen one interested in
disassembling/upgrading their gadgets. They just go out and buy the next model
up when it's available.

------
sjwright
For anyone who has assembled IKEA furniture, it's worth noting that their
cross-type screw drives are almost exclusively pozidriv, not Phillips. They
are very similar, but you get a noticeably better fit if you use the right
driver.

Even with Phillips head I see many computer people using a PH1 driver in a PH2
screw and unwittingly damaging one or the other. These sizes are not supposed
to be interchangeable!

~~~
mikeash
I really hate the Philips head. I guess it's good when you're building cars
with cheap tools and uneducated workers, but for everything it gets used for
today, a screw head that _deliberately_ cams out and that willingly accepts
incorrect driver sizes but gets damaged from it is just useless.

I'm seriously considering adding Henry F. Philips to my list of people to go
back in time to assassinate if I ever get ahold of a time machine.

~~~
abakker
Phillips heads are not really for high-torque applications. They stem from an
era where many drivers didn't have a rapid stop, and the automated centering
was very helpful.

Unfortunately, this persisted in the construction industry because of drywall.
Phillips heads in drywall will readily "cam out" when you hit a high enough
torque, which can help prevent over tightening or stripping. (of course, if
you keep trying to tighten the screws they will almost always strip).

The bits were universal, but they were never designed to be a high torque
fastener, and they are completely inappropriate for most woodscrews over 2
inches long (deck screws, etc.)

Fortunately, even home depot and lowes are now beginning to carry Torx drive
screws, which work much better. If you are buying deck screws for any project,
always try to get T25 rather than T20 size screws. They are sufficiently
resilient that each screw could be reused many times, while phillips/square
drive screws will start to loosen/strip after 1 use.

------
rawe
The list lacks the coffee bean head screw used in coffee makers. At least
there is another security screw type that is somewhat compatible...
[http://maultech.com/chrislott/blog/pix/spanner-screw-bit-
sma...](http://maultech.com/chrislott/blog/pix/spanner-screw-bit-small.jpg)

(from
[http://maultech.com/chrislott/blog/20100627_nespresso.html](http://maultech.com/chrislott/blog/20100627_nespresso.html)
)

~~~
sjtrny
Add it to the page then.

~~~
teh_klev
It probably belongs on the spanner/wrench page:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrench](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrench)

~~~
Vexs
Eh, I don't think so. The bit he used is designed to be a wrench bit, it's not
designed for the oval screw used by the nspresso, it just works
coincidentally.

~~~
teh_klev
Ah...you're right, I missed the "somewhat compatible" part of the sentence.

The only other problem would be if it's "notable" enough :)

------
cbaleanu
I look at this and cannot help to compare the need for so many types of
screwdrivers with the need for so many javascript libraries[0] or xml
parsers[1] or anything not invented here, like a csv parser [2]

[0]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_JavaScript_libraries](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_JavaScript_libraries)
[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:XML_parsers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:XML_parsers)
[2] [http://tburette.github.io/blog/2014/05/25/so-you-want-to-
wri...](http://tburette.github.io/blog/2014/05/25/so-you-want-to-write-your-
own-CSV-code/)

~~~
cwmma
I think when you said JavaScript you meant programing language

C:
[https://notabug.org/koz.ross/awesome-c](https://notabug.org/koz.ross/awesome-c)

Java: [http://www.fromdev.com/2014/10/most-widely-used-java-
librari...](http://www.fromdev.com/2014/10/most-widely-used-java-
libraries.html)

Erlang: [https://github.com/drobakowski/awesome-
erlang](https://github.com/drobakowski/awesome-erlang)

Elixer: [https://github.com/h4cc/awesome-
elixir](https://github.com/h4cc/awesome-elixir)

Python: [https://github.com/vinta/awesome-
python](https://github.com/vinta/awesome-python)

Heck here is a list of the lists:
[https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome#programming-
language...](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome#programming-languages)

------
eboyjr
This isn't directly my area of interest but the physics sure are interesting.
I wonder if the space of screw drive shapes can be generated by a computer and
evaulated with a fitness function that calculates the weight, profile,
strength, contact area, for every given application.

~~~
auxym
Torx is a pretty optimized drive [1].

Otherwise, yeah, it would likely be possible. Many vendors have been proposing
semi-automatic structural optimization via finite element methods for a while
now (for example, [2]). I'd assume it'd be pretty long running though, as its
a non-linear contact problem likely needing pretty tight tolerances/meshing.

In the real world though, you're much more likely to want something standard.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torx)

[2]
[http://www.altairhyperworks.com/HWTemp3Product.aspx?product_...](http://www.altairhyperworks.com/HWTemp3Product.aspx?product_id=19&item_name=Benefits)

------
snarfy
I appreciate the elegance of the Robertson screw.

~~~
err4nt
I like that once you insert the tip into the head of the screw, the screw will
stay snug on the driver until you pull it out. You can load a screw on and
then with the screwdriver place it anywhere you want it with only one hand!

------
kitd
Of course, this list needs to be twice as long, to include all the left-handed
versions.

~~~
mcherm
This was a list of drives, not screws. By my count, 33 out of 37 drivers shown
are symmetric with regard to clockwise vs counterclockwise driving. (Tri-wing,
Torq-set, One-way, and Mortorq are the only ones I see that are non-symmetric.
And three of these are a standard that is really only built one way.

------
andy_ppp
So it seems there is one type missing - custom screwdriver/bolt parings such
as [http://www.pitlock.de/](http://www.pitlock.de/).

I have these and my bike wheels have not been stolen yet!

~~~
jamessb
Seems like that is covered by the 'proprietary head' category:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#Proprietar...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#Proprietary_head)

------
ableal
To replace a broken wire, I once had to file a notch in a cheap plain
screwdriver blade - the screw had a protruding center pin. It protected a
clothes steam iron ...

------
beefman
OP probably didn't intend to leave the anchor on this link.

~~~
lisper
Indeed. Unfortunately, HN doesn't allow users to edit links once they are
submitted. :-(

