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Comment by Maarten88 | Hacker News Reader

> being able to buy a custom “off the shelf” part without making a special internal part number

How does that work? I have been searching the internet for stainless steel M8 x 20 set screws with a torx socket, maybe uncommon but straightforward. I have yet to find these anywhere outside of having them manufactured in china by truckload - I need maybe 100.

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There you go, package of 10 for $7.57: https://www.mcmaster.com/90910A589/

McMaster has everything (almost)!

"Set screw" means the same as "grub screw", i.e. a bolt where the entire thing is threaded, and the head is set within the bounds of the thread, not proud of it.

Like this: https://ever-hardware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Torx-se...

Torx grub screws are super uncommon, I don't think I've ever seen one. Usually they have a hex socket (for an allen key), or occasionally they're slotted (for a flat-blade screwdriver).

I think they are uncommon because torx drivers are always bigger than the head of the tool. They always taper down to the size as part of the design, so that doesn't work well for most applications.

I can get a straight torx screwdriver with shaft diameter smaller than the screw at my local hardware store. No need for worldwide shipping, I can get that on bike. There exist also torx bits with long shaft.

That’s a good point. It means that whoever sells the elusive torx set screw would then get to sell the matching elusive torx set screw driver!

My mistake. I read "set screws" as "set of screws".

You can only buy parts that are configurable to begin with. If it doesn’t exist in their catalogue, it won’t be configurable unfortunately.

Button head: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221005020675/?Category...

Cap screw: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221005020664/?Category...

Flat head: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/221005020686/?Category...

These are just standard parts though. Misumi's real configuration flexibility comes from parts that are parametrically defined. For example you can basically design a shaft by specing the material, coating, diameter, length, tolerances, and additional parametric features (external threading, tapped holes, flats, grooves, etc).

Here's an example: https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/110302399810/

Once you've specified the parameters, it generates a price table including quantity discounts.

AND you can order that same part number again the next time! Configuration options are all built into the part number directly, so you can reference THAT exact number in your own internal documents if you choose to source from Misumi.

I only see coarse thread offered in stainless, but there's a pretty nice selection of M8 x 20 set screws here (though now I realize, none with Torx drive, my bad): https://www.mcmaster.com/set-screws/thread-size~m8/length~20...

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