---
title: "What Are Button Head Socket Screws Used For?"
description: "Button Head Socket Screws (ISO 7380) are used for threaded assemblies where the head drive and seating style matter. Catalogued M3 to M20."
url: https://engineeringhardware.com/applications/button-head-socket-screws/
source: Engineering Hardware & Fasteners
---

# What Are Button Head Socket Screws Used For?

Screws · ISO 7380 · Application guide

Typical applications, the industries that specify button head socket screws, and how to choose the right size, material and finish for the joint.

Button Head Socket Screws are used for threaded assemblies where the head drive and seating style matter. They are manufactured to ISO 7380, and the choice of size, property class and finish is driven by the load in the joint and the environment it sits in.

- **Primary duty:** Threaded assemblies where the head drive and seating style matter
- **Governing standard:** ISO 7380
- **Thread size range:** M3 to M20
- **Category:** Screws

Application notes are general engineering guidance. Verify the property class and any approval requirement against your own design calculation.

![What Are Button Head Socket Screws Used For? application image](https://engineeringhardware.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Button-Head-Socket-Screws-—-ISO-7380.webp)

Button Head Socket Screws are selected when an assembly calls for threaded assemblies where the head drive and seating style matter. This application guide to the ISO 7380 type covers concrete end-uses, the specification checklist, correct installation, and where an alternative fastener performs better. Stocked across roughly M3 to M20, they cover general to heavy-duty work.

## Typical Applications for Button Head Socket Screws

The most common settings where these are specified:

- **Appliances & consumer goods:** high-volume assembly with power tools and consistent seating.
- **Machine guarding & panels:** removable access covers that are opened for service.
- **General machine building:** fastening covers, brackets, motors and sub-assemblies on production equipment.
- **Maintenance & repair (MRO):** a stocked size for servicing existing plant where the original fastener spec must be matched.
- **Fabrication & metalwork:** bench and on-site assembly of steel frames, enclosures and weldments.

## How to Specify Button Head Socket Screws for Your Application

- **Size:** Match the nominal size to the mating thread or hole. This product spans M3–M20; check the full table below for the exact dimensions of each size.
- **Drive & head:** Pick the drive (socket, cross, slot) and head style for the tool access and seating surface; a recessed drive resists cam-out under power tools.
- **Environment:** For damp, coastal or chemical exposure prefer A4/316 stainless or a suitable coating; indoors, plated steel or A2 is usually sufficient.
- **Standard:** This product is supplied to ISO 7380. Quoting the standard on your order guarantees interchangeable dimensions between suppliers.

## Installation & Assembly Practice

- This is a reduced-height head. The head, not the thread, limits what the screw will carry — ISO 7380-1 caps a button head at roughly 80% of the thread's capacity — so the thread's proof load overstates the assembly. Size the joint on the head, or use a cap screw where the full class strength is needed.
- Match the driver exactly to the recess (PH ≠ PZ; hex key sizes per ISO 2936) and keep the tool axial — side load is the main cause of stripped drives.
- In tapped holes, engage a thread length of at least 1× the nominal diameter in steel, 2× in aluminum.
- Set power tools to a torque that seats the head without embedding it into the mating surface.

## Common Selection Mistakes with Button Head Socket Screws

- Under-sizing the drive for the installation torque — a small recess at high torque strips before the screw is seated.
- Using a countersunk head in thin sheet where the countersink removes most of the load-bearing material.
- Specifying stainless in high-strength duty: A2-70 is roughly class 7 steel, not a 10.9 substitute.

## Where Button Head Socket Screws Are Not the Right Choice

Not for high-preload structural joints (use a property-class bolt and nut), and not in thin sheet where a self-drilling or self-tapping type suits better.

Custom manufacturing · Made to drawing

## Need a button head socket screws outside the standard range?

Head form and drive can be specified to the assembly rather than to a standard: a larger bearing face, a security drive, or a socket sized for the tool already on the bench. Made by cold heading or warm forging.

Minimum order from 2,000 pieces; samples within 7 days of drawing approval.

[Custom screw manufacturing](https://engineeringhardware.com/custom/screws/)[Send a drawing](https://engineeringhardware.com/custom/screws/#rfq)

## Technical Drawing

Dimensioned line drawing of M3 Button Head Socket Screws to ISO 7380. Side view and top view, drawn to the dimensions in the table below and redrawn for any size selected.

- **Pitch (mm):** 0.5
- **Head diameter dk (mm):** 5.7
- **Head height k (mm):** 1.65
- **Hex socket s (mm):** 2.0

## Dimensions & Specifications (ISO 7380)

| Size | Pitch (mm) | Head diameter dk (mm) | Head height k (mm) | Hex socket s (mm) | Reference standard |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| M3 | 0.5 | 5.7 | 1.65 | 2.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M4 | 0.7 | 7.6 | 2.2 | 2.5 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M5 | 0.8 | 9.5 | 2.75 | 3.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M6 | 1.0 | 10.5 | 3.3 | 4.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M8 | 1.25 | 14.0 | 4.4 | 5.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M10 | 1.5 | 17.5 | 5.5 | 6.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M12 | 1.75 | 21.0 | 6.6 | 8.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M14 | 2.0 | 24.5 | 7.7 | 10.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M16 | 2.0 | 28.0 | 8.8 | 10.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |
| M20 | 2.5 | 35.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | ISO 7380-1 / DIN 7380 |

Inside the plant

## Manufactured in our own plant

This part is cold-formed, threaded, heat-treated and finished in-house. The stages below are where its class and finish are actually decided.

1. ![Wire rod feeding into a cold heading machine](https://engineeringhardware.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/09-wire-rod-feed-cold-heading-machine.webp) 01 **Cold heading** Wire rod is drawn to size and cold-formed into blanks. Forming rather than cutting keeps the grain flow continuous around the head, which is where a bolt is most likely to fail. Head dimensions and under-head radius checked at set-up and per shift.
2. ![Thread rolling machine producing bolt threads](https://engineeringhardware.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/03-thread-rolling-machine-bolt-production.webp) 02 **Thread rolling** Threads are rolled between hardened dies rather than cut. Rolled threads are stronger in fatigue than cut threads and hold pitch and flank angle far more consistently across a batch. Go / no-go ring gauges to ISO 965 tolerance class 6g.
3. ![Baskets of bolts staged for heat treatment](https://engineeringhardware.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/05-heat-treatment-baskets-black-bolts.webp) 03 **Heat treatment** Quench-and-temper brings carbon and alloy steel to the property class ordered — 8.8, 10.9 or 12.9 — with the furnace charge tracked so a finished lot can be traced back to it. Core hardness and tensile tested per lot to ISO 898-1.
4. ![Zinc plated bolts in a treatment basket](https://engineeringhardware.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/23-zinc-plated-bolts-treatment-basket.webp) 04 **Surface treatment** Zinc, zinc-nickel, hot-dip galvanizing, black oxide, phosphate and Dacromet, selected against the service environment rather than against the price list. Coating thickness and neutral salt spray hours to ISO 9227.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What material should Button Head Socket Screws be for outdoor use?

For damp, coastal or chemical environments specify A4 (316) stainless or a suitably coated steel. For indoor or dry use, A2 (304) stainless or zinc-plated steel is normally adequate.

### Are Button Head Socket Screws made to a recognized standard?

Yes — they are manufactured to ISO 7380, so dimensions are interchangeable between suppliers when you quote the standard on your order.

### What are Button Head Socket Screws used for?

Threaded assemblies where the head drive and seating style matter. They are supplied to ISO 7380.

### Which industries use Button Head Socket Screws?

They are commonly specified in general machine building, maintenance & repair (mro) and fabrication & metalwork, among other sectors.

### Can I get a quote for Button Head Socket Screws in the size and material I need?

Yes. Use the technical drawing and quote form on this page to set the size and options, then send the exact configuration to our team for pricing and lead time.

## Related Pages

Product page: [Button Head Socket Screws — specifications & sizes](https://engineeringhardware.com/fastener/button-head-socket-screws/)

### Button Head Socket Screws Specification Guides

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