Screwdriver Bit FAQ

S2 is a shock-resistant tool steel; CR-V (chrome vanadium) is a general-purpose alloy used in most consumer hand tools. The practical difference is hardness and how the bit fails. S2 holds a harder, more wear-resistant tip, so the drive edges keep their shape instead of rounding off. CR-V is softer, which makes it cheaper but more prone to the edges polishing over and slipping out of the screw head. MOYOTEC bits are made from industrial-grade S2, which costs roughly twice as much as the material used in consumer-grade bits — that cost difference is the whole reason the tip survives repeated impact work.

Two reasons. First, the raw material: industrial S2 alloy runs about twice the cost of the steel used in household-grade bits. Second, the processing. Getting S2 to perform requires controlled heat treatment and a black phosphate finish, both of which add steps most budget factories skip. A bit that looks identical on a product photo can be a completely different tool once it meets a hardened deck screw.

Our impact bits are produced to HRC 58-62. That range is deliberate: harder than that and the bit turns brittle and snaps under impact; softer and the tip deforms and cams out. The target is a tip hard enough to resist wear while the shank keeps enough toughness to absorb the hammering action of an impact driver.

They can, and that is exactly the trade-off a bit factory has to manage. Hardness resists wear; toughness resists fracture, and pushing one too far costs you the other. This is why the heat treatment matters more than the raw hardness number. We run salt-bath heat treatment so the hardness is even through the part rather than concentrated at the surface — an unevenly treated bit is the one that shears off at the shoulder.

Black phosphate is a conversion coating, not a paint layer. It bonds into the surface of the steel, which gives it two jobs: it holds a thin film of oil to slow down rust in humid shipping and storage, and it slightly reduces friction between the bit and the screw recess. Because it converts rather than sits on top, it will not flake off and change the fit of the tip.

They solve different problems and neither is universally better. Titanium nitride coatings are marketed for surface hardness and are common on drill bits. Black phosphate is the standard finish for impact bits because impact work is about shock absorption and grip in the recess, not surface hardness — and a hard surface coating on a flexing bit tends to chip. For screwdriver bits, black phosphate over properly heat-treated S2 is the more honest specification.

Yes. Black phosphate is our standard, and we also produce bits with other surface treatments depending on what the market expects. Tell us the finish your customers are used to seeing and we will quote it — for private-label buyers the finish is often as much a shelf-appeal decision as a technical one.

A regular bit is designed for steady rotational force from a drill or hand driver. An impact driver adds thousands of rotational hammer blows per minute, and a rigid bit will eventually shear under that load. Impact bits are built to flex slightly and absorb that shock — typically through a torsion zone in the shank and a different hardness profile. Running a regular bit in an impact driver is the single most common reason bits snap.

That is cam-out, and it is usually a fit problem rather than a strength problem. If the tip geometry does not match the recess exactly, contact concentrates on a small area, the bit rides up out of the screw, and both the bit and the screw head round off. Worn tips make it worse: once the drive edges have polished over, cam-out accelerates. Matching the correct drive type and size — PH2 to a PH2 recess, not a close-enough PZ2 — solves most of it.

25mm insert bits are the standard for general assembly and fit magnetic holders. 50mm and 75mm power bits give reach past obstructions and are common in construction. 90mm to 150mm lengths are for deep recesses, framing, and drywall work where the driver body cannot get close. Most distributors stock 25mm and 50mm in volume and carry the longer lengths in smaller quantities.

Phillips (PH), Pozidriv (PZ), Torx (T), hex, square (Robertson), slotted, and the security variants of those. We also make bits to a customer's own tip geometry — if you have a drawing or a sample screw, we can design and produce a tip to match it. Custom geometry is part of what our in-house R&D team does rather than an exception we make.

Any 1/4" hex shank bit will seat in a standard 1/4" magnetic holder. What varies is retention: some holders grip on the detent groove, others rely on magnetism alone. If you are sourcing holders and bits from different suppliers, send us a sample of the holder and we will confirm the shank tolerance matches before you commit to volume.

100 pieces for OEM production with your logo. We keep the MOQ low deliberately — a distributor testing a new private-label line should not have to commit to a container to find out whether the market responds.

Yes. We laser-mark the shank, which is a permanent mark rather than a printed one, and it is part of our standard production line rather than an outsourced step. Packaging can also be printed with your branding — blister packs, tins, blow-mould cases and bit boxes with UV-printed logos are all produced in-house.

Both, plus in-house R&D. OEM means we make your existing design to your specification. ODM means you tell us the market you are selling into and we develop the product — tip geometry, length range, packaging, the full set. We are a manufacturer with our own development team, not a trading company placing your order somewhere else.

Yes. Send a drawing, a sample bit, or even just the screws you need to drive, and our R&D team will work out the tip geometry and produce samples. Custom tip design is routine work for us — it is one of the reasons buyers come to a source factory rather than a catalogue supplier.

Six steps: you send the enquiry and requirements; we confirm the specification, working from your drawings, samples or target screws; you approve samples after paying the sampling fee; production is scheduled once samples are signed off; the balance is settled when production completes; then the goods ship and you get tracking. Nothing moves to the next stage without your written confirmation.

A factory. 6800 m² of production floor in Taizhou, Zhejiang, operating since 2016 with 51-100 staff. S2 bar stock comes in one end and packed, laser-marked, magnetised bits go out the other — cutting, CNC machining, salt-bath heat treatment, sandblasting, oil coating, laser marking, magnetising and packing all happen under our own roof. The premises have been physically verified by an independent third-party inspection.