Scientists at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow have studied automating the process of screwing and unscrewing for the intelligent factories of the future.

They have used haptics, the study of the sense of touch, to understand how humans perform these tasks and then build robots that use the same technique.

They have discovered that humans use two different types of force to drive home a screw or release it—they first apply pressure or axial force to push the screw into its socket and then a turning force or torque to turn the screw.

The team has also found that the required force depends on the type of screw head—screws with a Phillips head require significantly more axial force to avoid cam-outs than screws with a hex head.

After testing, the team found that hex heads are less likely to slip than Phillips heads when given the same axial force. Finally, when they programmed a robot to replicate the pattern of force, it performed well.

Whether a human or a robot, our fasteners are perfect for you.