Self-Drilling, Self-Tapping Tech Screws

Self-Tapping Tech Screws

A self-tapping tech screw is a screw that can tap its own hole as it is driven into it. For hard substrates such as metal or hard plastics, the self-tapping ability is often created by cutting a gap in the continuity of the thread on the screw. This will generate a flute and cutting edge similar to those on a tap.Thus, whereas a regular machine screw cannot tap its own hole in a metal substrate, a self-tapping one can (within reasonable limits of substrate hardness and depth). For softer substrates such as wood or soft plastics. The self-tapping ability can come simply from a tip that tapers to a gimlet point (in which no flute is needed). Like the tip of a nail or gimlet, such a point forms the hole by displacement of the surrounding material rather than any chip-forming drilling/cutting/evacuating action.