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Self Tapping Screws And Other Linear Actuators

By Bonnie Contreras


Self tapping screws are a type of linear actuator that can be driven straight through two or more thicknesses of metal without needing to drill holes first. It saves an incredible amount of time and is so easy. There is a YouTube video that shows a guy mounting computer screens on a metal frame and then attaching the frame to corrugated metal sheets at the rear for an attractive effect.

They are brilliant gadgets and well loved by those who use them. They save marriages, spare injuries and involve a lot less hair-pulling and swearing. That almost takes the fun out of it. They are also used to mount surveillance cameras on a metal frame and in dentistry. Tooth implants are considered to be self tapping screws.

Self drilling screws may have either crosshead (Phillips) heads or plain ones. Crossheads give the screw more more leverage when being driven through metal. You can see how important it is to make sure you have the correct tool for the job at hand. Such a tiny modification in form can translate to a significant change in function.

Most screws have a right-handed, or clockwise, thread. To tighten, turn clockwise; to loosen, turn counter-clockwise. The easy way to remember this is righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. The same mnemonic works for opening and closing jars as well as adjusting the radiator.

There are a wide variety of screw types. The distance between threads along the shaft, for example, is called the pitch. The metal from which they are made is also a factor; this can be steel, zinc, copper, nickel, brass or chromium. They can have flat or round heads and one or two grooves in the head. The ones with two grooves that are at right angles to each other are called Phillips head or cross head screws.

The design for the Phillips head screwdriver was purchased from its inventor, John Thompson, from a man from Portland Oregon named Henry Phillips. Phillips made a few tweaks and then had the final design patented. Among its early users was the firm that manufactured the Cadillac, General Motors. Phillips eventually sold the patent to the Ford Motor Company for a grand total of $5 million, an enormous sum now and even more enormous in 1945.

Most screws are right-handed, meaning they tighten in the clockwise direction. There are times, however, when a screw is going to encounter strong counterclockwise forces, in which case a left-handed thread is preferable. Other items with helical threads that can be rightfully called a screw include propellers and the Archimedes' screw water pump.

Self tapping screws are brilliant devices that save time and hassle when fastening pieces of metal to one another without the need to drill separate holes which you then have to fiddle around and line up. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to design. Screws have a lot of different varieties. They are made from a number of different metallic materials, such as copper, chromium, steel, zinc or nickel.




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