A lot of people take zip screws for granted, not realizing that a screw is a special kind of motor, called an actuator. An actuator is a motor that moves something. A linear actuator is an actuator that changes rotary motion into linear motion. Therefore, all types of screw are tiny, little motors. A screw has a pointed shaft with external, helical grooves and a flat head with one or two grooves.
There are many different kinds of linear actuators. One type has a single groove in the head which can be used for driving it forward into, say, a wall. These can be handled by a normal, straight screwdriver. Other types of linear actuator have two grooves arranged at right angles to one another. These are best manipulated using a crosshead, or Phillips, screwdriver. The man credited with inventing the crosshead screwdriver is Henry F. Phillips, who lived from 1890 to 1958.
We really take his invention for granted and never give Henry Phillips a second thought. We came from Portland in Oregon and bought the design of the device from a man named John P. Thompson, who must surely be kicking himself now. Phillips made a few modifications to the device and patented it.
One of Phillips' first customers, in 1936, was General Motors, who put it to work on its Cadillac assembly lines. He sold the patents to Ford Motor Company in 1945 for approximately $5 million. Phillips died in 1958.
More often than not, when we are confronted by a Phillips head screw, there is no crosshead screwdriver around. When this happens, a straight screwdriver will work just as well. However, when we have a straight screw, a Phillips head screwdriver is not so useful. When this happens, we normally reach for a table knife or a small, thin coin like a dime.
A similar apparatus is the bolt, which does a similar job to the small but mighty linear actuator. A bolt has external threads on the distal end from the head. In order to secure the bolt, a nut, with internal threads, is employed. It is screwed around the bottom threads until whatever it is holding is securely in place.
Screws do not require nuts to hold them into place. Imagine you want to hang up a painting on your wall. You would drill a hole, making sure you are drilling into a strut and not just plasterboard or sheetrock. In most cases, you bash in a rawl plug, a plastic sleeve that holds the screw more securely in place than if you just screwed it directly into the wall. You don't make the head of the screw flush with the wall; you leave a bit hanging out to hold the picture.
What are zip screws used for? Because they have a sharp, metal-piercing tip, they are used to hold thin sheets of metal together, like heating ducts or guttering outdoors. It gets its name from the fact that it just zips right into place. If, however, you are working with heavy metal, you would go the hardware store and purchase TEK screws for this purpose.
There are many different kinds of linear actuators. One type has a single groove in the head which can be used for driving it forward into, say, a wall. These can be handled by a normal, straight screwdriver. Other types of linear actuator have two grooves arranged at right angles to one another. These are best manipulated using a crosshead, or Phillips, screwdriver. The man credited with inventing the crosshead screwdriver is Henry F. Phillips, who lived from 1890 to 1958.
We really take his invention for granted and never give Henry Phillips a second thought. We came from Portland in Oregon and bought the design of the device from a man named John P. Thompson, who must surely be kicking himself now. Phillips made a few modifications to the device and patented it.
One of Phillips' first customers, in 1936, was General Motors, who put it to work on its Cadillac assembly lines. He sold the patents to Ford Motor Company in 1945 for approximately $5 million. Phillips died in 1958.
More often than not, when we are confronted by a Phillips head screw, there is no crosshead screwdriver around. When this happens, a straight screwdriver will work just as well. However, when we have a straight screw, a Phillips head screwdriver is not so useful. When this happens, we normally reach for a table knife or a small, thin coin like a dime.
A similar apparatus is the bolt, which does a similar job to the small but mighty linear actuator. A bolt has external threads on the distal end from the head. In order to secure the bolt, a nut, with internal threads, is employed. It is screwed around the bottom threads until whatever it is holding is securely in place.
Screws do not require nuts to hold them into place. Imagine you want to hang up a painting on your wall. You would drill a hole, making sure you are drilling into a strut and not just plasterboard or sheetrock. In most cases, you bash in a rawl plug, a plastic sleeve that holds the screw more securely in place than if you just screwed it directly into the wall. You don't make the head of the screw flush with the wall; you leave a bit hanging out to hold the picture.
What are zip screws used for? Because they have a sharp, metal-piercing tip, they are used to hold thin sheets of metal together, like heating ducts or guttering outdoors. It gets its name from the fact that it just zips right into place. If, however, you are working with heavy metal, you would go the hardware store and purchase TEK screws for this purpose.
No comments :
Post a Comment