Why do manufacturers use Allen wrench screws for self assembled furniture instead of Phillips or flathead?

Question

Why do manufacturers use Allen wrench screws for self assembled furniture instead of Phillips or flathead?

In: 1849

Answer 1

As someone that worked for a company that used a number of different fastener head types I would say the biggest reasons for our products were for cosmetics and the torque requirement. Both Phillips and Allen drives were available in a pan-head design, which we thought looked good. For smaller screws, we tended to use Phillips head screws. For larger screws that were visible we tended to use Allen head screws as they can be tightened much more than a Phillips head. For less visible locations, we generally used hex head screws.