Why do manufacturers use Allen wrench screws for self assembled furniture instead of Phillips or flathead?
In: 1849
Allen wrenches and hex heads are vasty superior to flatheads and still better than Philips.
Flat heads aren’t self centering, the tool is prone to slipping out, and good like putting a lot of torque on it without the tool slipping out
Phillips are self centering so they’re a lot easier to work with but if you put too much torque on it the bit will slip out of the screw head and damage it. This is a feature sometimes as it prevents you from putting too much force and damaging the piece, you’ll just strip the screw
Allen wrenches and hex heads can tolerate a ton of torque and the bit isn’t prone to slipping out. For hand assembled furniture this can be really handy because sometimes you need to thread those screws into wood. You can also limit how much torque people are likely to apply by providing a short stubby allen wrench. If its only 3 inches long its going to be hard to get crazy force on it, but if you give them a drill bit or a socket head it’s going to be easy to put too much force and crush/otherwise damage the pieces you’re connecting
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