"The first off the assembly line were plated with gold and silver and made into a necklace... “
Norman Nock, Austin Healy Magazine (1996)
The cross-shaped screw-head is ubiquitous today, yet its widespread use came only a lifetime ago.
Traditional flat-head screws, in use since the late seventeenth century, suffer from two disadvantages: one, the slot and screwdriver have to be precisely aligned; and two, the screwdriver can easily slip from its position thanks to centrifugal force. These problems are particularly pronounced in automated production lines, where robots are not able to compensate for slippage as easily as humans. The cross-head screw, with a pointed tip for self-centering, was designed to eliminate these problems and deliver more torque to boot.
The cross-head was popularized by Henry F. Phillips (1890-1958) from Portland, Oregon. Phillips built on the work of inventor J. P. Thompson, who had designed, but failed to capitalize on, a recessed-head screw. Phillips developed the concept and founded the Phillips Screw Company in 1933. He received five U.S. patents for the design between 1934 and 1936.
A means to mass manufacture the components was developed by the American Screw Company, but not without $500,000 of development costs. The investment began to pay off when General Motors adopted the screw on the 1936 Cadillac. The Phillips screw really came to the fore during World War II, where its use sped up production of tanks, jeeps, and other vehicles, including the Spitfire fighter plane.
