A Torx T8 screw on a hard drive.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Torx (pronounced "torks"), developed in 1967
[1]
by Camcar Textron,
[2]
is the trademark for a type of screw head characterized by a 6-point
star-shaped pattern. A popular generic name for the drive is star, as in
star screwdriver or star bits. The official generic name, standardized
by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 10664, is
hexalobular internal.
[3]
This is sometimes abbreviated in databases and
catalogs as 6lobe (starting with numeral "6", not a capital "G"). Torx
Plus is an improved head profile.
Torx screws are commonly found on automobiles, motorcycles, bicycle
brake systems (disc brakes), hard disk drives, computer systems and
consumer electronics. Initially, they were sometimes used in applications
requiring tamper resistance, since the drive systems and screwdrivers were not widely available; as drivers
became more common, tamper-resistant variants, as described below, were developed.
[4]
Torx screws are also
becoming increasingly popular in construction industries.
1 Principles of operation
2 Sizing
3 Variants
4 Competitive variants
5 Gallery
6 See also
7 References
By design, Torx head screws resist cam-out better than Phillips head or slot head screws. Where Phillips heads
were designed to cause the driver to cam out, to prevent overtightening, Torx heads were designed to prevent
cam-out. The development of better torque-limiting automatic screwdrivers for use in factories allowed this
change. Rather than rely on the tool to slip out of the screw head when a torque level is reached, which risks
damage to the driver tip, screw head, and/or workpiece, torque-limiting driver designs achieve a desired torque
consistently. The manufacturer claims that this combination can increase tool bit life by ten times or more.
The Torx design allows for a higher torque to be exerted than a similarly sized conventional hex socket head
without damaging the head and/or the tool. The diagram on the right depicts the interaction between the male
and female components of a conventional hex drive and a Torx drive. The clearance between the components is
exaggerated for clarity. The diagram does not show a true Torx profile, but illustrates the general shape and
geometry.
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The angle between the plane of
contact between tool and fastener and
the circumferentially directed force is
much closer to 90 degrees in a Torx
type of head (lower) than in a
conventional hex head (upper).
Part of a series on
Screw drive types
Slot (regular)
Phillips
PH
Pozidriv (SupaDriv)
PZ
Square
Robertson (square)
Hex
The green circle, passing through the six points of contact between the
two components, represents the direction of the rotational force being
exerted at each of those points. Because the plane of contact is not
perpendicular to this circle, a radial force is also generated which tends
to "burst" the female component and "crush" the male one. If this
radial-force component is too great for the material to withstand, it will
cause the corners to be rounded off one or both components or will split
the sides of the female part. The magnitude of this force is proportional
to the cotangent of the angle (depicted in orange) between the green
circle and the contact plane. It can be seen that for the Torx type of
design, the angle is much closer to 90 degrees than in the case of the hex
head, and so for a given torque the potentially damaging radial force is
much lower. This property allows the head of the fastener to be smaller
for the same required torque, which can be an advantage in applications
where space to accommodate the head is limited.
Torx head sizes are described using the capital letter "T" followed by a
number ranging from T1 to T100.
[5]
A smaller number corresponds to a
smaller point-to-point dimension of the screw head. Common sizes
include T10, T15, and T25, while T5.5, T35, and T47 tend to see
specialized use. Only the proper driver can drive a specific head size
without risk of damaging the driver or screw. The same series of Torx
drivers is used to drive SAE, metric and other thread system fasteners,
reducing the number of bit sizes required.
The "external" variants of Torx head sizes (see below) are described
using the capital letter "E" followed by a number ranging from E4 to
E44.
[6]
The "E" numbers are different from the "T" numbers of the same
size: for example, an E4 Torx socket fits a T20 head.
[5]
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Hex socket (Allen)
Security hex socket
(pin-in-hex-socket)
Torx
T & TX
Security Torx
TR
Tri-Wing
Torq-set
Spanner head
(Snake-eye)
Double-square
Triple square
XZN
Polydrive
One-way
Spline drive
Double hex
Bristol
Pentalobular
Properties of various Torx drives
[5]
Size
Point-to-point distance Maximum torque range
~ E
Torx
(in) (mm) (lbft) (Nm)
T1 0.031 0.81 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03
T2 0.036 0.93 0.05 0.07 0.07 0.09
T3 0.046 1.10 0.10 0.13 0.14 0.18
T4 0.050 1.28 0.16 0.21 0.22 0.28
T5 0.055 1.42 0.32 0.38 0.43 0.51
T5.5
[7][8][9]
T6 0.066 1.70 0.55 0.66 0.75 0.90
T7 0.078 1.99 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.7
T8 0.090 2.31 1.6 1.9 2.2 2.6
T9 0.098 2.50 2.1 2.5 2.8 3.4
T10 0.107 2.74 2.7 3.3 3.7 4.5
T15 0.128 3.27 4.7 5.7 6.4 7.7
T20 0.151 3.86 7.74 9.37 10.5 12.7 E4
T25 0.173 4.43 11.7 14.0 15.9 19 E5
T27 0.195 4.99 16.6 19.8 22.5 26.9
T30 0.216 5.52 22.9 27.6 31.1 37.4 E6
T35
[10]
[11][12]
T40 0.260 6.65 39.9 48.0 54.1 65.1 E8
T45 0.306 7.82 63.4 76.1 86 103.2
T47
[13][14]
GM-Style
T50 0.346 8.83 97.4 117 132 158 E10
T55 0.440 11.22 161 189 218 256 E12
T60 0.519 13.25 280 328 379 445 E16
T70 0.610 15.51 465 516 630 700 E18
T80 0.690 17.54 696 773 943 1048 E20
T90 0.784 19.92 984 1094 1334 1483
T100 0.871 22.13 1359 1511 1843 2048 E24
A version known as Security Torx, Tamper-Resistant Torx (often shortened to Torx TR) or pin-in
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Security Torx
driver
External Torx
driver
Torx contains a post in the center of the head that prevents a standard Torx driver (or a
straight screwdriver) from being inserted.
An External Torx version exists, where the screw head has the shape of a Torx
screwdriver bit, and a special Torx socket is used to drive it. Using a standard hex socket as
an expedient risks damaging the fastener. External Torx heads are found primarily on items
like automobile engines and transmissions. However, the external E Torx nominal sizing
does not correlate to the T size, (e.g. an E40 socket is too large to fit a T40, while E8
Torx socket will fit a T40 Torx bit
[5]
).
Properties of various External Torx drives
Size
Point-to-point distance
[15]
Standard fastener selection
[6]

(in) (mm) (SAE) (metric)
E4 0.15 3.8 #6 M3
E5 0.18 4.7 #8 M4
E6 0.22 5.6 #10 M5
E7 0.24 6.1
E8 0.29 7.4 1/4" M6 & M7
E10 0.36 9.3 5/16" M8
E12 0.43 11.1 3/8" M10 & M11
E14 0.50 12.8 7/16" M12
E16 0.57 14.7 1/2"
E18 0.65 16.6 9/16" M14
E20 0.72 18.4 5/8" M16
E24 0.87 22.1 3/4" M18 & M20
E28 7/8" M22
E32 1" M24 & M27
E36 1-1/8" M30
E40 1-1/4" M33
E44 1-3/8" M36
A Torx successor, Torx Plus, was introduced about 1990 when the original Torx patent was expiring.
The lobes are more square to allow for higher torque and minimize wear. The name is shortened to IP
(Internal Plus) with sizes ranging from 1IP to 100IP
[16]
(sometimes listed as IP1 to IP100
[17]
) and EP
(External Plus) with sizes ranging from 1EP to 42EP as well as smaller sizes ranging from H7EP to H2EP
and includes five-lobed tamper-resistant variants.
[16]
The specifications for these licenses are held by
Textron. Standard Torx drivers can be used to drive Torx Plus screws, but not to full torque because of the
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loose fit. Torx Plus drivers will not fit into standard Torx screws.
A tamper-resistant version of Torx Plusexists having five lobes rather than six, plus a solid post in the
center, and is used for security as the drivers are still uncommon.
[18]
Though Acument (formerly Textron)
lists no designation,
[19][20]
TS
[21]
or IPR
[22]
may be seen.
TTAP, which is also hexalobular, is designed to minimize wobbling without the need for magnetic bits, a
feature that can be important to certain industrial users. Standard Torx drivers can be used to drive TTAP
screws, but TTAP drivers will not fit standard Torx screws.
AW, similar type of screw head developed by the Wrth group in Germany.
Torx bits T15, T20, T25, and T30

A Torx wrench
Closeup of Torx screwdriver tip

An assortment of Torx driver bits
Screwdriver
Wrench
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^ U.S. Patent 3,584,667 (http://www.google.com/patents/US3584667) filed 1967-03-21 1.
^ Camcar eventually became part of Textron Fastening Systems in the 1990s. In 2006 Textron Fastening Systems was
sold to Platinum Equities, LLC, of Beverly Hills, California. They renamed the company Acument Global
Technologies (http://www.acument.com/), which as of 2010 includes Avdel, Camcar, Ring Screw, and others.
2.
^ ISO 10664:2005 (http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=40257), ISO.org, retrieved 2012-01-14 3.
^ Fast and Secure (http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/june05/features/fastand/fastand.html),
Memagazine.org, retrieved 2012-01-14
4.
^
a

b

c

d
Chart of Torx fasteners and tools (http://www.wihatools.com/Marketing/torxspec.htm), Wihatools.com,
retrieved 2012-01-14
5.
^
a

b
http://web.archive.org/web/20070102194628/http://www.textronfasteningsystems.com/PDFs/torx.pdf 6.
^ http://www.jeepwatches.co.uk/images/handtools/AE44.jpg 7.
^ http://www.generaltoolstore.com/small-torx-trx-star-screwdriver-bits-t5-t55-t6-t7-t8-t9-on-12-hex-shank-
45100-p.asp
8.
^ http://www.toolsdiy.co.uk/shop/view/power-tools/16pc-torx-tamperproof-bit-set/ 9.
^ http://www.etoolsrus.com/browse.cfm/4,5120.html 10.
^ http://www.ts-audio.de/tsshop/PRD/CHL17885/Details.htm?pk_campaign=psm_elmar 11.
^ http://www.sourcingmap.com/pcs-t35-313-torx-head-screwdriver-link-12-square-mechanic-drive-socket-
p-268675.html
12.
^ http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=636916&group_ID=674869 13.
^ http://www.rodneydickman.com/torxsockets.html 14.
^ http://www.wihatools.com/Marketing/torxspec.htm 15.
^
a

b
http://www.acument.com/pdfs/Catalog_TORX_PLUS_DS.pdf 16.
^ http://www.wihatools.com/300seri/366_IP_serie.htm 17.
^ http://www.instructables.com/id/When-a-Phillips-is-not-a-Phillips-Plus-So-Much-Mor/step70/Torx-Plusreg-
Security/
18.
^ http://www.acument.com/pdfs/Catalog_Fastening_Solutions.pdf 19.
^ http://web.archive.org/web/20061110014752/http://www.textronfasteningsystems.com/PDFs/TP_tech
/Tampresisttorxplus.pdf
20.
^ http://www.lasertools.co.uk/item.aspx?cat=1246&item=748 21.
^ http://www.wihatools.com/700seri/716_IPR_serie.htm 22.
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Categories: Screws
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