STAINLESS STEEL SOCKET SET SCREWS CONE POINT

Socket Set Screws Cone Point — Socket set screws with a cone point are the DIN 914 grub-screw form: fully threaded and headless, with a sharp conical tip designed to seat into a matching dimple or drilled hole in the mating shaft rather than simply bearing against a flat or curved surface. That positive mechanical seating gives cone point the highest holding power of the common point types, both against rotation and along the shaft's axis, but only once it's properly located — this is a point style built around a permanent, positioned fixing rather than a general-purpose clamp, and it depends entirely on a pre-drilled locating feature existing in the shaft first.

Because of that dependency, cone point is the right choice specifically where the design already includes, or can include, a matching dimple or hole — collar and pulley locations in precision machine builds, permanent hub fixings, and any joint where a single, well-defined position needs to be held reliably without adjustment. Where no locating hole exists and drilling one isn't practical, a cup point remains the more sensible general-purpose alternative, trading some holding power for the ability to grip a plain, undrilled shaft.

Grade selection follows the pattern of the wider set screw range: A2 and A4 are both softer than a hardened carbon steel equivalent, but for cone point specifically that matters less than for cup point, since the holding power here comes from positive location in a matching hole rather than from the tip biting into the surface — so the corrosion environment, rather than shaft hardness, tends to be the deciding factor between A2 and A4. Choose A4 wherever moisture, salt, or process chemicals are part of the operating environment.

Sizing needs to account for both the shaft and the locating feature: the screw's diameter and thread must match the tapped hole in the hub, and its length needs to be enough for the cone to fully seat in the shaft's dimple without bottoming out in the hub before the tip engages. Because this is a location-critical fixing, it's worth confirming the dimple or hole's size and depth actually match the cone geometry being used, rather than assuming any cone point screw of the right thread will seat correctly.

FAQs
How does a cone point compare with a cup point when no locating hole exists yet?
A cup point can be used immediately against a plain shaft, while a cone point needs a matching dimple or hole drilled first; it's only worth the extra step of drilling that feature where the assembly specifically needs the stronger, more positive location a cone point then provides.

Can a cone point set screw be used without a pre-drilled dimple, bearing directly on a flat shaft?
It can technically bear on a flat surface, but it then behaves like a narrow, aggressive cup point and loses the positive location that's its main advantage — not recommended as standard practice.

Can a cone point set screw be safely removed and repositioned once seated?
Not really recommended — repeated removal risks widening or damaging the original locating dimple, which undermines the positive location the point depends on if it needs to be reseated later.