Philips is designed to allow the screwdriver to slip out
That’s a myth. I’ve read the entire patent and there is no mention of it, and later patents are just post-hoc justifications for an objectively faulty, inferior design.
My charitable hypothesis is that the design uses shallower angles that are easier to cam out because sharp angles would result in stress fractures during the cold forming of the screw heads. My realistic hypothesis is that dies with shallow angles are cheaper to produce and more durable. But the point is moot: the Phillips didn’t become the de facto standard because of any practical advantage (real or perceived), but because Robertson wasn’t willing to sell exclusive rights to Ford.
I’m usually not one to criticise a person’s life choices, but if you think Phillips is better than the popular alternatives, I immediately think less of you as a person.
Ok, it’s more accurate to say that the fact that the screw will cam out is something that was key to its adoption, even if it wasn’t designed to happen.
Quoting “One Good Turn - A natural history of the screwdriver and the screw” by Witold Rybczynski:
Paradoxically, this very quality is what attracted automobile manufacturers to the Phillips screw. The point of an automated driver turning the screw with increasing force popped out of the recess when the screw was fully set, preventing overscrewing. Thus, a certain degree of cam-out was incorporated into the design from the beginning. However, what worked on the assembly line has bedevilled handymen ever since.
That’s a myth. I’ve read the entire patent and there is no mention of it, and later patents are just post-hoc justifications for an objectively faulty, inferior design.
My charitable hypothesis is that the design uses shallower angles that are easier to cam out because sharp angles would result in stress fractures during the cold forming of the screw heads. My realistic hypothesis is that dies with shallow angles are cheaper to produce and more durable. But the point is moot: the Phillips didn’t become the de facto standard because of any practical advantage (real or perceived), but because Robertson wasn’t willing to sell exclusive rights to Ford.
I’m usually not one to criticise a person’s life choices, but if you think Phillips is better than the popular alternatives, I immediately think less of you as a person.
People are brainwashed by phillips corporate propaganda to believe phillips is a good screw head.
Ok, it’s more accurate to say that the fact that the screw will cam out is something that was key to its adoption, even if it wasn’t designed to happen.
Quoting “One Good Turn - A natural history of the screwdriver and the screw” by Witold Rybczynski:
https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/were-phillips-screwdrivers-designed-to-cam-out/57870/9