Screw-DepartmentofPhysicsAstronomyatthe.docVIP

Screw From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about screws and bolts. Screws come in a variety of shapes and sizes for different purposes. U.S. quarter coin (diameter 24 mm) shown for scale. A screw is a shaft with a helical groove or thread formed on its surface and provision at one end to turn the screw. Its main uses are as a threaded fastener used to hold objects together, and as a simple machine used to translate torque into linear force. It can also be defined as an inclined plane wrapped around a shaft. Contents [hide] 1 Screws and bolts 1.1 Differentiation between bolt and screw 2 Other fastening methods 3 Materials and strength 4 Mechanical analysis 5 Tensile strength 6 Types of screws and bolts 6.1 Fasteners with a tapered shaft (self-threading screws) 6.2 Fasteners with a non-tapered shaft 6.3 Other threaded fasteners 7 Shapes of screw head 8 Types of screw drive 8.1 Combination drives 9 Tamper-resistant screws 9.1 Protruding obstacle head 9.2 One-way only head 9.3 Proprietary head 9.4 Breakaway head 10 Tools used 11 Mechanics of use 12 Thread standards 12.1 ISO metric screw thread 12.2 Whitworth 12.3 British Association screw threads (BA) 12.4 Unified Thread Standard 12.5 Others 13 History 14 Legal issues 15 See also 16 References 16.1 Notes 16.2 Bibliography 17 External links Screws and bolts A screw used as a threaded fastener consists of a cylindrical shaft, which in many cases tapers to a point at one end, and with a helical ridge or thread formed on it, and a head at the other end which can be rotated by some means. The thread is essentially an inclined plane wrapped around the shaft. The thread mates with a complementary helix in the material. The material may be manufactured with the mating helix using a tap, or the screw may create it when first driven in (a self-tapping screw). The head is specially shaped to allow a screwdriver or wrench (British English: spanner) to rotate the screw, driving it in or releasing it. The hea