I always used the screwdrivers that vex sold, but they strip really easy. If you don’t use vex screwdrivers, what are some alternatives that last longer?
Do you use hex or star?
We switched all of our screws and screwdriver to T-15’s and that has been working for us very fell for the last 2 years.
We use the hex heads sold on the vex website
Stars work really well and don’t strip.
Agreed
Star screwdrivers don’t strip and neither do the star screws.
For starters I would just recommend buying the star drive screws from VEX or your local re-seller, they’re usually cheaper.
For tools, I bought mine from Robosource, material type and quality is better than the ones sold by VEX when i compared them to my other team members’ tools. They also have a few extra quirks to them.
T15 is the size for 8-32 thread size screws.
TORX® is a registered trademark of Acument Intellectual Properties, LLC: http://www.acument.com/copyright/
Star drive is a generic term for that fastener. (The patent’s expired) VEX appears to avoid using third party trademarks in product titles nowadays.
VEX does sell star drive screwdrivers, not just keys: https://www.vexrobotics.com/tools.html
You can buy them from us as well, if you’re in our sales territory: https://www.robotmesh.com/vex-t15-star-screwdriver-1-pack
Ohhh my bad, sorry. Deleted my post.
You can mention a trademark all you want if you add the appropriate symbol.
If you don’t add the symbol, Acument could theoretically come after you for damages, but the possibility is remote.
If you don’t want to switch to Torx (might be annoying to either throw away all the hex screws or keep two types of tools on hand), Bondhus and Wera make very good hex keys and screwdrivers. If you need to put a lot of torque on a hex fastener, Wera makes hex keys with this ingenious profile called Hex Plus that has flats contact the hex profile instead of points, allowing much more force to be placed on the hex without stripping.
McMaster is where we ordered our tools from since it’s a lot cheaper than Amazon. They stock the aforementioned Wera and Bondhus keys and screwdrivers. The strange thing is that they don’t specify what brand the tool is. If you want a specific brand, pay attention to the picture as Wera and Bondhus have distinct handle designs.
Also, another reason to stay with hex screws is that Torx ball-end tools are very expensive.
I use MIP screwdrivers and bits, they are a little more expensive but are guranteed to not strip, and be the best hobby tools. They also make some pretty good nut drivers, and the bits haven’t stripped even after I used them in a drill for a month.