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    Acupoint® Fasteners
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    Mag-Form® Fasteners
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    TORX® Drive System
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    TORX PLUS® Drive System
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FAQs

How does Acument control the quality of the products made by our licensees?

What is the difference between an Authentic TORX® product and an imitation "six lobe" or "Type X" product?

What are several reasons people have chosen the TORX drive system over imitation drive systems?

Where can I buy TORX and TORX PLUS gages?

How does the ISO standard 10664 "Hexalobular Internal driving feature for bolts and screws" affect TORX licensees?

How does Acument control the quality of the products made by our licensees?

Licensees are regularly audited for quality by Acument.  The audit process is specific to the licensees licensed manufactured product and physically checks the quality of the products licensed features.  When inspecting the audit samples, we ensure that they meet the specifications for quality and workmanship as called out in our controlled standards manuals.  This audit program that is provided only to Acument licensees is yet another reason why customers prefer to use our licensed products versus imitation product.  Using our licensed products is the only assurance OEM's have of getting parts from manufacturers whose specific production is regularly and independently audited for quality.  This assures OEM's that they will be receiving the same quality product throughout the world if they use one of our licensed sources.

What is the difference between an Authentic TORX® product and an imitation "six lobe" or "Type X" product?

Specifications are necessary! Specifications have controlled the manufacturing of fasteners since the 1800's.  These specifications have been developed through the coordinated efforts of manufacturers, consumers, engineers, societies and trade associations throughout the world to assure that performance requirements are met for all common fasteners.  The TORX drive system is controlled by using a complete set of standards developed and maintained for over 30 years.  Within almost every industry that uses fasteners, the TORX Drive System is thought of as a high strength, high quality drive system.  The TORX Drive System is totally documented to assure conformance.  Only the TORX worldwide licensees have access to the confidential TORX standards specifications and "know-how" to produce a consistent, TORX product.  The TORX licensing program is the largest fastener licensing program in the world.  There are licensees throughout the world from Europe to the Pacific Rim.  TORX licensees have the right to use the TORX trademark and manufacturing "know-how".

What are several reasons people have chosen the TORX drive system over imitation drive systems?

1. Uniform Design of Licensed Product

Acument issues manufacturing and design standards to exclusive use by TORX licensees.  These standards are "living documents" which control the form, fit and function of the genuine TORX drive system.  Improvements and modifications are regularly made to the specifications.  There are no centrally controlled design or quality specifications available to non-licensed "six-lobe" manufacturers which control form, fit and function for there generic products.  Therefore there is no assurance of consistency in the design or quality of non-licensed product from one supplier to the next.

2. Development and Maintenance of Product Design

As originator of the TORX drive system, Camcar remains a design resource to licensees for standard fastener designs.  This ensures that an OEM designer can approach any licensed manufacturer of genuine TORX fasteners and get consistent design advice backed by Camcar's licensee support.  Non-licensed manufacturers act as totally independent resources offering no consistency between suppliers nor licensor support to the OEM designer.  Lacking any access to TORX design specifications, these suppliers can not provide the technical expertise required.

3. Confidential Manufacturing Standards

The only established manufacturing specifications for genuine TORX drive (or any other imitation drive) are those issued by Acument for exclusive and confidential use by licensed TORX manufacturers.  Other specifications are merely incoming inspection standards, which have different dimensions than manufacturing specifications.  All currently existing or proposed industry or OEM standards are for inspection only and are not intended, nor adequate for manufacturing purposes.  Non-licensed producers in most cases are not producing generic product to any kind of manufacturing standard at all.

4. Access to Genuine Certified Gages

Genuine TORX gages are manufactured and sold exclusively to TORX licensees.  These gages are made using a unique process to meet Acument's stringent TORX dimensional gage specifications.  They are then "certified" by Acument, in our own A2LA accredited lab, as meeting these strict specifications prior to the sale to the licensees.  Other generic imitation gages are sold by non-licensed sources but have not been found to meet Acument's TORX certification requirements.

5. Quality Audit of Licensees

Licensed TORX manufacturers are regularly audited for quality by Acument.  This audit process, unlike ISO or QS 9000 processes, is specific to the licensees TORX manufactured product and physically checks the quality of specific TORX production.  Non-licensed manufacturers do not have their imitation production actually inspected by any outside resource.  The other quality audit and certifications (i.e. ISO, QS, Q1, etc.) merely allow "self certification" by the non-licensed manufacturer itself using generic gaging that has not been certified by Acument as accurate.  Using licensed TORX manufacturers is the only assurance OEM's have of getting parts from manufacturers whose specific production is regularly and independently audited for quality.

6. Inspection and Re-Certification of Gages

Gages are in reality perishable tooling.  Through use they begin to wear and eventually loose their capability to control limits.  Acument provides all licensed TORX manufacturers with unlimited, free inspection and re-certification of genuine TORX gages. This same service is offered to OEM's who purchase genuine TORX fasteners from a licensed fastener supplier.  This service ensures that genuine TORX gaging, used only by licensed manufacturers, remains consistent and within the established specifications.

7. Access to Genuine Manufacturing Tools

It is impossible to inspect quality into a product therefore the manufacturing process must be the controlling factor.  The quality of a TORX recess begins with the quality of the tool used to make it.  Genuine TORX manufacturing tools are made only by licensed tooling manufacturers.  These tooling sources must meet the same exacting procedures and quality auditing processes as fastener manufacturers.  This is to ensure that genuine TORX tooling is of consistent quality around the world.  These tools are available only to licensed TORX fastener manufacturers.  Generic tooling, used by non-licensed fastener manufacturers, comes from several sources, none of which have the advantages of certification or quality audit controlled by any central resource.

8. Manufacturing Know-How

The unique shape of the TORX drive system configuration makes it difficult to manufacture.  During Acument's 30 years of manufacturing this product, we have developed considerable manufacturing expertise aimed at producing the highest quality TORX product possible.  This manufacturing expertise, or "Know-How" as it is referred to, is a key advantage that is provided exclusively to our licensed manufacturers.

9. Ongoing Training and Technical Support

Assuring highest quality product requires consistent training and support by Acument of licensed manufacturers.  Acument routinely conducts technical seminars and training sessions with TORX licensees all around the world.  This ensures that as new people come into the organizations, they keep updated on the special requirements of designing, manufacturing, and controlling the quality of genuine TORX fasteners.  As the Licensor of the TORX drive system, we assist licensed manufacturers with production and engineering problems to be certain they can overcome them and meet their customers requirements.  This type of help and support is not available to non licensed producers of imitation product.  If they have manufacturing or quality problems that they can not resolve, it does not get resolved and the customer suffers.

10. FASTCALC Software

Acument has developed, and makes available exclusively to TORX licensees, our proprietary FASTCALC software.  This unique engineering tool is used to determine the optimum recess design for special heads.  It also is useful for analysis of special recess depths to prevent poor designs.  All licensed TORX manufacturers have this software and are trained in its use.  Most non licensed manufacturers do not have access to this type of tool and therefore cannot give guidance to customers engineers on recess design nor alert them when a problem may exist.

11. Tooling Cost

Licensed manufacturers of genuine TORX tooling consist of some of the best, most capable and experienced producers of fastener tooling in the world.  Most of these companies have years of experience in manufacturing genuine TORX tooling using the unique, confidential and proprietary Know-How licensed to them by Acument.  This experience enables these manufactures to offer genuine TORX tooling to licensees at costs that are usually significantly lower than non-licensed manufacturers can achieve.  In addition, the quality of the genuine TORX tooling contributes to the superior life expectancy of these tools leading to further manufacturing cost advantages for TORX licensees.

Where can I buy TORX and TORX PLUS gages?

All genuine TORX and TORX PLUS gages that are manufactured, certified, and sold will be processed solely through the Acument licensing group.  Sales of Confidential TORX and TORX PLUS gages will only be made to TORX and TORX PLUS licensees as the gages are considered proprietary technology belonging to Acument.  OEM's or end users of TORX and TORX PLUS product who require receiving inspection gaging can purchase the proper incoming inspection gages from the TORX licensee that manufactured the licensed product for them.

How does the ISO standard 10664 "Hexalobular Internal driving feature for bolts and screws" affect TORX licensees?

Camcar has received a number of questions from licensees concerning the recently issued standard ISO 10664 "Hexalobular Internal driving feature for bolts and screws".  This standard has been in development since 1988 and Camcar has been involved with it since the beginning.  We want to inform all of our TORX® licensees as to what this standard is and what it is not.

We all recognize the tremendous popularity of the TORX drive system around the world.  This popularity has created a desire amongst most major users to develop a "standard" for these fasteners.  The original TORX "user" standards were published by Camcar back in 1968 and given to all of our customers for use in developing their own drawings and standards.  These user standards do not contain any confidential manufacturing specifications. They are inspection standards for our customer's incoming inspection use.  Each licensee also has a set of these user standards in your TORX standards books.  They are in the front of the books (with no confidential marking).  These dimensions were used by all the major automotive manufacturers during the past 30 years to set up their own internal standards.  A copy of the Ford world standard WB 900 (released in 1996) and the Chrysler standard PS-6849 (released in 1978) are attached as examples of how our TORX "user" standards have been used.  The common thing about all of these is that they are incoming inspection standards, not fastener manufacturing standards.

The new ISO standard is exactly the same thing as all of these customers have been publishing for the past 30 years.  The ISO standard shows all of the same information that is in the non-confidential section of the TORX user standards. It is the same kind of information that is in the Ford and Chrysler standards.  When Camcar agreed to work with ISO on the development of this standard, they were told that we would not divulge any confidential information and that it would be for incoming inspection purposes only.  ISO agreed to this and in fact, in paragraph 1 on the first page of the ISO standard, it states:

"The intent of this International Standard is to provide the details necessary for inspection of the hexalobular driving feature.  It is not suitable for, nor intended to be used as a manufacturing standard."

This statement recognizes that the standard contains no confidential manufacturing specifications which only licensed TORX manufacturers have access to.

As most of you are aware, many automotive standards use generic names for TORX.  They have used "Lobed Recesses", "six lobe" and other such descriptive terms.  The ISO standards calls them "hexalobular".  Despite what the customer calls the fastener recess, as licensed manufacturers, your license obligates you to provide a "TORX" fastener to them.  Your manufacture of these products uses the confidential manufacturing specifications, know-how, tooling and gages provided exclusively to you by Camcar under the terms of your license.

We believe that eventually, the presence of this ISO standard will lead to even more use of the TORX drive system around the world.  As a licensee for TORX, this will ultimately benefit you as well.  It is important though, that you also continue to promote to your customers the advantages that you as a licensee have with your genuine TORX tooling, gaging and know-how.  This is not found in the ISO standard and is not available to anyone other than TORX licensees.

Licensing Department, 510 18th Ave., Rockford, IL 61104
North America: 1-815-961-5243 | International: (+1) 815-961-5190 | Licensing Information: licensing@acument.com