What is "torx"

Torx (pronounced ), developed in 1967 by Camcar Textron, is the trademark for a type of screw head characterized by a 6-point star-shaped pattern. A popular generic name for the drive is star, as in star screwdriver or star bits. The official generic name, standardized by the International Organization for Standardization as ISO 10664, is hexalobular internal. This is sometimes abbreviated in databases and catalogs as 6lobe (starting with numeral "6", not a capital "G"). Torx Plus is an improved head profile.

Torx screws are commonly found on automobiles, motorcycles, bicycle brake systems ( disc brakes), hard disk drives, computer systems and consumer electronics. Initially, they were sometimes used in applications requiring tamper resistance, since the drive systems and screwdrivers were not widely available; as drivers became more common, tamper-resistant variants, as described below, were developed. Torx screws are also becoming increasingly popular in construction industries.