Installed a Bosch integrated dishwasher yesterday.
All the screws provided were T20 Torx head. You really need that ability to cope with huge torque when fixing thin brackets to plastic moldings or chipboard. Not.
I have a set of Torx bits obviously, but the average punter doesn't.
What is the point?
probably easier to fit by a machine
These were the screws included in the installation pack, not the ones used to make the dishwasher.
In message , David Lang writes
I suspect it makes assembly easier. Maybe it is easier for a machine to do it?
I've never understood why ikea and MFI at the time used hex screws/bolts, but at least they supplied the 'key' so you don't have to find the half dozen you have somewhere. They should supply the torx driver too I think.
Isn't there 6 on a torx, 4 on a pozi[1]/phillips and just 2 on a flat blade.
[1] well the extra just seem to wear down too quickly si I don't count them :)
the machine that the fitter carries into your kitchen, you mean
tim
I assumed that that was the reason
much simpler than supplying a screwdriver
tim
Ah, I see, that is a bit uneccessary.
Got a knew Miele fridge a couple of years ago. Wanted to change the door round.
The handle is held on with torx screws. IIRC although I had some Torx screwdrivers they were quite small ones (handles rather than bit size) and didn't give enough leverage to undo the screws, I had to go out and buy some meatier ones
A machine can grip the screw more easily for auto assembly?
Well, you're sort of assuming everyone has a set of decent screwdrivers if you'd prefer ordinary screws?
Slotted types are more easily damaged. And careless use of the screwdriver can damage the person.
Cross head screws require the correct screwdriver. A phillips one in a pozi head can damage the screw.
To supply the correct decent quality screwdriver would cost more than an allen key.
I'm not those that supply then in whatever kit does the assuming.
I've seen them damage students too.
Yep.
Why, I have so called right angled screw drivers, was does a bit of metal shapped like a flat screwdriver cost so much more than making a philips or torx version. it cant be that much more expensive.
It would have been possible, in the OP's case, for the manufacturer to have supplied a Torx Allen key.
I get the feeling that Torx are quite a bit more common here in Germany than in the UK, and Bosch being a German firm may just not have thought about it.
I quite like torx screws. The driver bit doesn't cam out like it can with philips or pozi.
But I did get annoyed when I bought a Bosch fridge-freezer a couple of years ago and needed to swap the doors round to hinge on the other side. The top fixings were torx, and were fine. But the bracket at the bottom was held on by screws which required a star bit of some sort. I couldn't work out what it was - even with a mirror - 'cos I didn't want to tilt the thing more than necessary and upset its innards. In the end, I undid it with a Mole wrench and - once I had the screw in my hand - searched around for a suitable bit to enable me to put it back.
There are quite a few Torx head screws on my old Rover SD1. About 30 years old.
Ages ago, Lidl had a set with all the common Torx and allen bits - both long and short - and with a ratchet driver. All in a stout case, and beautifully made. One of the first tools I ever bought there and it's done sterling service. Got one for my brother too (they didn't have a Lidl then) and he likes it too.
Ages ago, I bought a selection of these security bits - all standard hex fitting - from IIRC Maplin. They don't get much use, but are invaluable when needed.
They were also used to fix the roof bars on my Citroen C5.
Plasticine or Blu-tack is good for identifying the required tool.
Cheers
Probably to deter theft.
The wiki explains it. You are less likely to round off the edges than you are with pozi. Apparently this is by design, in both cases. The trade off to rounding of screw heads being preventing over tightening. In a modern world with torque gauges over tightening is no longer such a threat.
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