The difference between self-tapping screw and drilling tail screw

Self-tapping screw is not just a kind of screw. There are many kinds of self-tapping screws, and their respective characteristics and applications are not the same. Here are two kinds of screws that are easily confused-self-tapping screw and drilling tail screw.

What is a self-tapping screw? What is a drill tail screw?

Self-tapping nail is a kind of threaded fastener that self-taps the matched female thread in pre-drilled holes of metal or nonmetal materials. Self-tapping screws don't need nuts with female threads. They drill female threads in the material while screwing in. Self-tapping screws such as triangular teeth, high and low pressure self-tapping screws, etc. are all self-tapping screws.

Drill tail screw is a kind of wood screw. Drill tail screw is a screw with a self-tapping drilling head at the front end of the screw, also called self-drilling screw. According to the different drilling tails, it can be divided into: round head rice/cross/plum blossom, countersunk head (flat head)/rice/cross/plum blossom, hexagonal flower, round head flower (big flat head), trumpet, etc.

Actually, there is a great connection between them. Self-drilling screws must be self-tapping screws, or simply self-drilling screws. They are also called "drilling screws" because they have drilling tails, but self-tapping screws are not necessarily self-tapping screws. Usually, we mean self-tapping screws that need prefabricated holes.

Common ground of self-tapping screw and drill tail screw

Nails are threaded and can be self-tapping.

The difference between self-tapping screw and drilling tail screw

1. Difference in use: Self-tapping screw is used for non-metallic or soft metal materials with low hardness (such as color steel plate). It can drill, squeeze, press and tap the corresponding threads of the fixed body on the fixed material by its own threads, so that they can be closely matched with each other. The drill tail screws are mainly used for fixing the colored steel tiles of steel structures, fixing thin plates, etc.

2. Difference in usage: When the self-tapping screw is screwed in, the corresponding internal thread is formed by extrusion. Without drilling and tapping, the operation can be completed at one time, but it is not recommended to drill many times, which is easy to damage the drilling hole or lead to the phenomenon of slipping. When the drill tail screw is used, it can be directly drilled, tapped and locked on the material without auxiliary processing, thus greatly saving the installation time.

3. Appearance difference: Self-tapping screws are generally pointed, coarse-toothed, hard in texture and with a certain taper, so that they can be "self-tapping", but they can't drill holes, while the head of the drill tail screw has a drill bit that can drill holes.