Editing Torx (section)

{{Short description|Screw drive with 6-lobed star-shaped flower-petal pattern}}
{{Redirect|Star key|the key on a telephone keypad|asterisk#Telephony}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2013}}
[[File:18-04-13-Schrauben-Schlüssel RRK3428.jpg|thumb|A security Torx L-key and fastener with holes for a safety pin to hinder disassembly with an ordinary Torx key.]]
[[File:Torx screw.JPG|thumb|A Torx T8 screw head on a [[hard disk drive]].]]

'''Torx''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|t|ɔr|k|s}}) is a trademark for a type of [[screw drive]] characterized by a 6-point star-shaped pattern, developed in 1967<ref name="patent667">{{US patent|3584667}}, Bernard F. Reiland, "Coupling arrangement and tools for same", filed 1967-03-21</ref> by Camcar [[Textron]].{{Efn|Camcar eventually became part of [[Textron]] Fastening Systems in the 1990s. In 2006 Textron Fastening Systems was sold to Platinum Equities, LLC, of Beverly Hills, California. They renamed the company [http://www.acument.com/ Acument Global Technologies], which as of 2010 includes Avdel, Camcar, Ring Screw, and others. In 2014, [http://www.platinumequity.com/news/907/platinum-equity-sells-acument-to-fontana-gruppo Acument was sold] from Platinum Equity to Fontana Gruppo.}} 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'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=ISO 10664:2005 |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=40257 |publisher=ISO.org |access-date=2012-01-14 }}</ref> This is sometimes abbreviated in databases and catalogs as '''6lobe''' (starting with the numeral ''6'', not the capital letter ''G''). '''Torx Plus,''' '''Torx Paralobe''' and '''Torx ttap''' are improved head profiles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-12 |title=What Is a Torx Screw? |url=https://fastenerengineering.com/what-is-a-torx-screw/ |access-date=2021-10-04 |website=Fastener Engineering }}</ref>

Torx screws are commonly found on [[automobile]]s, [[motorcycle]]s, [[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 [[screwdriver]]s were not widely available. However, as torx drivers became more common, tamper-resistant [[Torx#Competitive variants|variants]], as described below, were developed.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Paul |last=Sharke |title=Fast and Secure: how much proof is tamperproof? |journal=Mechanical Engineering |date=June 2005 |volume=127 |issue=6 |page=32 |doi=10.1115/1.2005-JUN-2 |url=http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/june05/features/fastand/fastand.html |access-date=2012-01-14 |issn=0025-6501 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209152751/http://www.memagazine.org/backissues/membersonly/june05/features/fastand/fastand.html |archive-date=2007-02-09 |doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Torx screws are also becoming increasingly popular in construction industries.