Not a lot of people think of zip screws as motors but that is exactly what they are, the simplest type of motor. An actuator is a kind of motor that is used to move something. A linear actuator is a device that converts rotary motion of a motor into linear motion. Therefore, a screw is a linear actuator. These handy little devices have a flat or curved head and a helical outer groove.
There are loads of types of simple linear actuators. Most have a single indentation in the head and can be driven into a wall or other material using a straight screwdriver. Others have a two grooves at right angles to each other. These can be driven by either a normal screwdriver, but more effectively by a special tool called a phillips head screwdriver, named after a man named Henry F Phillips.
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.
Now, while a phillips head screw can be set with a straight, ordinary screwdriver, it doesn't work very well the other way around. A phillips head screwdriver is useless for screwing a single-grooved screw. This is because it can't get a grip on the single groove. Most people give up and use a small coin, like a dime or a British half penny if they have one lying around. A table knife also works in a pinch if you are desperate.
A screw is different from a bolt, although they perform a similar function, holding stuff together. A bolt has external threads at one end and a head at the other. The bolt is slipped through two holes and a nut, which has internal threads, is wound around the external threads until the whole apparatus fits together tightly.
Screws do not need nuts to hold them in place. Let's say you are hanging a picture on your wall. You drill a hole in the plaster or sheet rock, preferably in a place on the wall that has a two by four behind it. Then, you place a rawl plug, a plastic sleeve, into the resultant hole. It makes the screw fit more securely. You drive in the screw, leaving a bit of the shaft sticking out. The picture hangs on the part of the screw that juts out from the wall.
Zip screws are used for guttering and for sheet metal, the type used for heating ducts. They have a sharp tip that will easily pierce soft metal. If you are working with a harder, thicker metal, then you would opt for a TEK screw. The zip screw, also known as a self-piercing screw, earned its name because it zip in fast.
There are loads of types of simple linear actuators. Most have a single indentation in the head and can be driven into a wall or other material using a straight screwdriver. Others have a two grooves at right angles to each other. These can be driven by either a normal screwdriver, but more effectively by a special tool called a phillips head screwdriver, named after a man named Henry F Phillips.
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.
Now, while a phillips head screw can be set with a straight, ordinary screwdriver, it doesn't work very well the other way around. A phillips head screwdriver is useless for screwing a single-grooved screw. This is because it can't get a grip on the single groove. Most people give up and use a small coin, like a dime or a British half penny if they have one lying around. A table knife also works in a pinch if you are desperate.
A screw is different from a bolt, although they perform a similar function, holding stuff together. A bolt has external threads at one end and a head at the other. The bolt is slipped through two holes and a nut, which has internal threads, is wound around the external threads until the whole apparatus fits together tightly.
Screws do not need nuts to hold them in place. Let's say you are hanging a picture on your wall. You drill a hole in the plaster or sheet rock, preferably in a place on the wall that has a two by four behind it. Then, you place a rawl plug, a plastic sleeve, into the resultant hole. It makes the screw fit more securely. You drive in the screw, leaving a bit of the shaft sticking out. The picture hangs on the part of the screw that juts out from the wall.
Zip screws are used for guttering and for sheet metal, the type used for heating ducts. They have a sharp tip that will easily pierce soft metal. If you are working with a harder, thicker metal, then you would opt for a TEK screw. The zip screw, also known as a self-piercing screw, earned its name because it zip in fast.
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