Screw Head Design: An Experimental Study to Assess the Influence of Design on Performance

Abstract

Purpose: This experimental study was designed to examine whether screw head design influenced the angle of application of a screwdriver at which failure of engagement or stripping of the screw head occurred. Materials and Methods: Four different screw head designs (slot, cross, square, star) were tested in a custom-made jig that was designed to enable the screws to be tested over a range of angles of application of the respective screwdrivers, to determine whether the screw head design influenced the torque value at which the screw head stripped or failure of driver engagement occurred. Results: The results fell clearly into 2 groups: The slot and cross designs gave the highest torque values..