Allen key

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An example would be using a 5 mm tool in a 5. Because these tools are relatively inexpensive to produce, they are becoming more and more common in toolboxes. The tool may also be called a hex wrench, , hex-head key, zeta wrench, Alum wrench, or Inbus key.

Sometimes the Allen screw is just in the wrong place and your hand just can't fit where it's supposed to screw in. Using a hex wrench on a socket that is too large may result in damage to the fastener or the tool. The tools came into common use during the manufacturing boom of World War II. This operation often leaves little telltale curled chips still attached at the bottom of the socket.

Allen key

Same hex key, different screw threads A hex key, Allen key or Allen wrench is a used to drive bolts and with sockets in their heads. The name is a registered trademark, originated by the of , circa 1910, and currently owned by , LLC. Its is discouraged by this company. In Italy, it is known as brugola, for the company Officine Egidio Brugola established 1926. Extant records suggest without offering exhaustive documentation that the idea of a hex socket screw drive was probably conceived as early as the 1860s to the 1890s, but that such screws were probably not manufactured until around 1910. Rybczynski 2000 describes a flurry of patents for alternative drive types in the 1860s to the 1890s in the US, which are confirmed to include internal-wrenching square and triangle types that is, square and triangular sockets , but he explains that these were patented but not manufactured due to the difficulties and expense of doing so at the time. In 1909—1910, William G. Allen patented a method of screw heads around a hexagonal die. Although it is unlikely that Allen was the first person to think of a hex socket drive, his patent for a manufacturing method and his realized product appear to be the first. In his autobiography, the founder of the Standard Pressed Steel Company SPS; now SPS Technologies, Inc. Hallowell Sr, presents a version of events in which SPS developed a hex socket drive in-house, independently of Allen, circa 1911. From this came the Unbrako line of products. This account from Hallowell does not mention the Allen patent of 1910, nor the Allen safety set screw product line. Hallowell does describe, however, the same inspiration also mentioned in connection with Allen for a wave of adoption of the hex socket head, beginning with and followed by. This was an industrial safety campaign, part of the larger , to get headless set screws onto the pulleys and shafts of the that was ubiquitous in factories of the day. The headless set screws would be less likely to catch the clothing of workers and pull them into injurious contact with the running shaft. SPS at the time was a prominent maker of shaft hangers and , the latter of which were set in place with set screws. In pursuit of headless set screws with a better drive than a straight slot, Hallowell said, SPS had sourced of square-socket drive from , but they were very expensive. This was only 2 years after Robertson's Canadian patent. This cost problem drove SPS to purchase its first and make its screws in-house, which soon led to SPS's foray into fastener sales for which it later became well known within the metalworking industries. The story, if any, of whether SPS's methods required licensing of Allen's 1910 patent is not addressed by Hallowell's memoir. The book does not mention which method—cold forming or linear broaching—was used by SPS in these earliest years. If the latter was used, then Allen's patent would not have been relevant. Hallowell said that acceptance of the internal-wrenching hexagon drive was slow at first painfully slow for SPS's sales , but that it eventually caught on quite strongly. This adoption occurred first in and later in other manufacturing fields such as defense aircraft, tanks, submarines , civilian aircraft, automobiles, bicycles, furniture and others. World War II, with its unprecedented push for industrial production of every kind, is probably the event that first put most laypersons in contact with the internal-wrenching hexagon drive. At the least, the design or methods of manufacturing it was patented in various countries by various patentees, and its name varies. There is another name in Italian brugola , stemming from the name Officine Egidio Brugola, a company who first commercialized Allen's products in Italy. Hex keys are measured across-flats AF , which is the distance between two opposite parallel flat sides of the key. Using a hex wrench on a socket that is too large may result in damage to the fastener or the tool. An example would be using a 5 mm tool in a 5. There are some exceptions to that. Table of some common metric hex key sizes from 0. Italic values are rounded. Table of some common SAE hex key sizes from 0. Italic values are rounded. Inch size Millimeters Inches decimal 0. Variants Hex keys of various sizes with ball ends. A security version of the hex head includes a pin in the center. A special driver must be used to fasten or remove these fasteners. The head's security variant also has such a pin for the same reason. Some hex keys have a ball on one end, which allows the tool to be used at an angle off-axis to the screw. This type of hex key was invented in 1964 by the Bondhus Corporation, and is now manufactured by several other companies. While providing access to otherwise inaccessible fasteners, thinning of the tool shaft to create the ball shape renders it weaker than the straight-shaft version, limiting the torque that can be applied. The tool also makes point contact with the fastener as opposed to the line contact seen in the straight style tools. Other ways to generate the hex socket include and. Broaching the heads with a linear broach is essentially the metalworking analog of mortising wood with a ; a hole is drilled and then the corners are broached out. This operation often leaves little telltale curled chips still attached at the bottom of the socket. These are negligible for most applications. Fabelhaft Werkzeug acquired the trademark from RT Holdings III WG US , LP, Luxembourg, on 24 July 2015. INBUS IP GmbH was registered with the stated purpose of holding and licencing the trademark INBUS. Hex keys with the INBUS brand are now manufactured at HaFu Werkzeugfabrik H. Fuhrmann GmbH, Breckerfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, as of 2017 accounting for 7% of the company's EUR 8 million turnover. February 1946 , , Popular Science, New York, NY, USA, 148 2. Various republications paperback, e-book, braille, etc.

This cost problem drove SPS to purchase its first and make its screws in-house, which soon led to SPS's foray into fastener sales for which it later became well known within the metalworking industries. Short Series Long Series Max. Bicycles, exercise equipment, furniture, and some home electronics commonly come with these tools included. The term 'hex' comes from hexa, the Greek word for 'six. In addition, the design of hex-head fasteners makes them less likely to what is a hex key out, or distort the head, than standard or Phillips head fasteners. They are also commonly found included with products that require minor assembly by the consumer and may come in specialty sizes as a result. World War II, with its unprecedented push for industrial production of every kind, is probably the event that first put most laypersons in contact with the internal-wrenching hexagon drive. A few months later there was a recall on it because of that fact - so it wasn't just me. A hex key is a tool used to tighten and loosen a screw or bolt, that has a hexagonal depression in its head. They come in an array of sizes in both metric and standard and are available in extremely small sizes other drivers are not capable of accommodating. Since then, the tool has gone by many names as numerous manufacturers have produced variations of the wrench. Further, they can be difficult to maneuver in tight places because of the space needed to turn the handle of the key.