Tel：
+86 13143444311
Email：sst@szsst88.com
Fax：+0086-755-27322278
Address：Building 9, First Industrial Zone, Tantou Industrial City, Songgang Street, Baoan District, Shenzhen 518105, Guangdong, China
Type:Cheese Head Screw, Slotted Screw
Materials:SUS 304
Surface treatment:Passivation
Head Type:Cheese Head
Drive:Single slot
Thread:Machine thread
Point:Plain, chamfered
Forming:Single Die Heading
Size:M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10
We make cheese head screws in 304 stainless with a flat top, a single slot and a machine thread, quoting them from M1 to M10. Head and slot size, thread and length come from your drawing, and the first article is fitted in your own part.
Watch the factory video·Email sst@szsst88.com
ISO 9001:2015 · Manufacturing since 1998 · 8,678+ customers · 89 countries and regions
Made to order – there is no stock catalogue. Each part is produced to your drawing, and production starts after drawing review and first-article approval.
Cheese head screws have a low cylindrical head with a flat top and a single slot, and they are one of the oldest machine-screw forms still in daily use. The part recorded here is A2 stainless, passivated, quoted from M1 to M10.
Cheese head. A straight-sided head, shallow compared with a cap head and flat on top, with a small chamfer at the rim.
Single slot. One straight slot across the flat top, driven with a flat blade.
Machine thread. A uniform thread for a tapped hole, a nut or an insert.
304 stainless, passivated. The general-purpose austenitic grade, A2 in the fastener system, finished with no coating.
Cheese head screws are used in instruments, meters, electrical accessories, model engineering and equipment that was designed when this was the standard head. They are also the form many drawings still call for where the head must be flat and low but must not be a countersunk seat.
The cheese head is defined by what it is not. It is not domed like a round head, so it presents a flat face; it is not countersunk, so it sits on the surface rather than in it; and it is shorter than a cap head, so it takes less room above the panel. What is left is a shallow cylinder with a slot cut into its top.
That shape gives the slot more depth than a domed head could, because the top is flat and full width. In practice the slot is still the weakest drive in common use: a blade bears on two narrow edges, and on a stainless head those edges wear before the thread does. The head’s advantage is that it can be machined, not that it can be torqued hard.
The low height has a second consequence, which matters on thin or soft material. A cheese head has a smaller bearing face than a pan head of the same diameter, so the pressure under it is higher; on a soft plastic or a painted panel it can mark where a pan head would not. Where the surface has to stay clean, a wider head or a washer is the answer.
The machine thread is the ordinary one, and it is why the form survives in instruments: a cheese head screw goes into a tapped boss or a nut and can be opened many times, unlike a forming screw which is spent after a few assemblies. The limitation is the drive, not the thread.
304 stainless with passivation is the finish that removes the finish question. There is no plating to wear at the slot or to mark a panel, the part does not rust in a wash or a humid room, and the head can be left bright or dulled to a satin without any coating being involved. The trade is galling in aluminium and a slot that shows every tool slip.
The recorded range is M1 to M10, with lengths made to the drawing. Custom lengths up to 2,000 mm are subject to DFM review after drawing submission. For cheese head screws the quotation carries head diameter and height, slot width and depth, thread pitch and overall length.
| Item | How it is defined | What we control |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Cheese head, flat top | Diameter, height, rim chamfer and flatness |
| Slot | Single straight slot | Width, depth and alignment |
| Thread | Machine thread | Pitch, length and start position |
| Length | Overall, head included | Length tolerance and thread start |
| Material | 304 stainless (A2) | Grade and heat number on the certificate |
| Finish | Passivated, plain | Surface condition and slot edges |
Head height and slot depth are quoted together. The cheese head gives more room for a slot than a dome of the same diameter, but not a lot, and a slot cut too deep leaves thin material under it while one cut too shallow lets the blade ride on the flat instead of in the slot.
Head diameter belongs with the panel it sits on. A small head on a soft surface marks sooner than a wide one, and the form has less bearing area than a pan head, so the choice of diameter does more work here than on other heads.
Four features define cheese head screws, and each one is a trade:
| Feature | What it gives | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Flat top | A readable face; more slot depth | Bearing face smaller than a pan head |
| Low height | Takes little room above the panel | Small head; limited drive |
| Single slot | Any flat blade works | Edges round in a soft head |
| Machine thread | Joint reopens without damage | Needs a tapped hole or a nut |
| 304 passivated | Slot and head as formed | Galls in aluminium; marks show |
The value is a machined-looking fastener that behaves predictably. The head is flat, so it can be checked against a straight edge; the slot is central, so it can be driven with the simplest tool; and the thread is standard, so the joint can be opened as often as the equipment requires.
The cost is that the drive sets the ceiling. A slotted cheese head is not a screw to tighten hard, and on a small stainless one the slot will wear through handling long before the thread gives trouble. Where a joint needs more torque, the same head form in a different drive — or a socket head — is the practical change.
The recorded finish is passivation on 304 stainless with no coating. It is the finish that leaves the slot exactly as machined, which matters because the slot is the only drive the part has; a coating would round its edges and change how the blade seats.
| Option | How it protects | Effect on head and slot | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 304, passivated | Passive chromium oxide film | Head and slot as machined | Instruments and panels |
| 316, passivated | Passive film with molybdenum | Head and slot as machined | Marine and medical |
| 304, electropolished | Thicker passive film, bright | Edges rounded; slot checked | Visible hardware |
| Steel, nickel plated | Hard bright barrier | Thin build; slot stays crisp | Indoor visible panels |
| Brass, plain | None needed indoors | Softer; slot wears faster | Period hardware |
Where the head is seen, electropolishing is the one addition worth making: it brightens the flat top, removes the burr at the slot edge that a blade would catch, and leaves a slightly thicker passive film, which is why the slot is checked after it.
Where a plated steel version is used instead, the slot is gauged after plating. A slot in a cheese head is deeper than in a dome, so it tolerates more build, but a heavy zinc layer still changes which blade fits.
Three assemblies where the flat, low head is the specification:
| Where it sits | The screw closes a case or fixes a scale plate where the head must be flat, low and readable. |
| When it goes wrong | The blade slips and scores the flat top, which is the face the customer sees. |
| Why it happens | The head is visible, the drive is a blade, and the joint is serviced. |
| What we control | Head flatness and slot checked; first article fitted to a finished case. |
| Where it sits | The screw fixes a plate or a terminal where the joint is wired and rewired and the head has to sit flat against the cover. |
| When it goes wrong | The slot rounds after a few openings and the plate cannot be retightened. |
| Why it happens | The joint is serviced, the head is flat, and the drive is a screwdriver. |
| What we control | Slot proved with the blade; first article assembled and reopened. |
| Where it sits | The screw replaces an original fixing where the head form has to match what was there before. |
| When it goes wrong | A modern head is substituted and the restoration is visibly wrong. |
| Why it happens | The part is judged visually, the original was a cheese head, and the joint is assembled once. |
| What we control | Head form and slot checked against the original; first article fitted. |
Four reasons that matter on a slotted machined head, each tied to something the drawing has to prove:
|
Head height and slot agreed
Head diameter and height, slot width and depth are agreed as a set, because the slot is cut into the flat top and both come from the same material. Basis: Head and slot agreed. |
Formed or machined, then passivated
The head is formed or machined, the slot cut, the thread rolled, and the parts passivated as a batch. Basis: One route from bar to passivated screw. |
|
Slot proved with a blade
The slot is measured and proved with a blade of the stated width, because a slot that measures correctly can still chip on the first turn. Basis: Slot proved with a blade. |
First article in your fitting
The first article is fitted in the customer part, because a small bearing face only proves itself against the material it presses on. Basis: First article fitted in the part. |
These screws are formed or machined to the cheese head form, slotted, threaded and passivated. The first part of every run is measured on head diameter and height, slot width and depth, thread and length, and the slot is proved with a blade.
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Cutting a slot into a flat top is simpler than cutting one into a dome, and that is the small advantage the form has kept. The cutter works across a plane rather than a curve, so the slot ends come out square and the depth is even; the wear that matters is at the rim chamfer, where a tool that has run long leaves a thin edge that chips.
Stainless needs the cutter to be sharp. A dull tool tears the slot edges instead of cutting them, and the tear is not visible on a passivated part until a blade is turned in it; the slot edges are therefore checked under magnification on the first part of every run.
What decides whether cheese head screws pass is the head, the slot, the thread and the grade. The inspection agreement covers those, and the criteria come from the drawing.
Head and slot on the projector |
Thread and start checked |
Core hardness checked |
Salt-spray testing of the grade |
Head diameter, height and flatness are measured on a projector, and the slot is measured for width and depth and then proved with a blade of the stated width. Length is measured over the head so the datum matches the drawing.
A sample from every batch is driven into the customer’s fitting and removed. That cycle shows a slot that chips and a thread that neglects to hold, and neither is visible on a part that has only been measured.
Every batch is traceable to the bar or wire it was made from and to the passivation batch that finished it. The grade and heat number appear on the material certificate supplied with the parts, and the inspection records follow the criteria agreed on the drawing.
ISO 9001:2015 |
RoHS test report |
Registered trademark |
Patent: security screw and driver |
With each shipment we supply the material certificate, the inspection record for the dimensions on the drawing and, where the grade is listed, the third-party report that covers it. The documents carry the drawing revision and the batch number, so a repeat order keeps the same head and the same slot.
More than 8,678 customers in 89 countries and regions have ordered from Shi Shi Tong; 87% of orders come from repeat customers and 56% through referrals. Most projects follow the same route: drawing review, first-article approval, then batches checked against that sample. On cheese head screws the first article is fitted in the customer part, because a small bearing face only proves itself against the material it presses. Buyers visit during the process to review samples.
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8,678+
customers served
|
87%
of orders from repeat customers
|
56%
of orders through referrals
|
89
countries and regions shipped to
|
Buyers and quality engineers visit for sample review, process discussion and supplier audits; the visit is arranged around production so the headers and the passivation line can be seen on the day the parts run.
Customer group visit – sample review |
Customer group visit – process discussion |
Customer group visit – factory tour |
Customer visit – project kick-off |
Danish customer – drawing review |
Industry exhibition – meeting customers |
A low cylindrical head with a flat top and a slot, shorter than a cap head and not domed like a round head.
It is the traditional drive and works with any flat blade, at the cost of a weaker grip on the head.
Easier than a pan head, because the bearing face is smaller. Use a wider head or a washer where the surface matters.
No. The slot limits the torque, and on a small stainless screw the slot wears before the thread does.
For rain and humidity, yes; for salt spray and chlorinated water, 316 is the grade.
Head diameter and height, slot width and depth, thread pitch and overall length.
How a cheese head screw project runs from drawing to repeat delivery:
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1
Send the drawing and the fitting
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→ |
2
Head height and slot agreed
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→ |
3
First article fitted in your part
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→ |
4
Batch production and repeat orders
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Each step is confirmed with you before the next one starts; the drawing revision from the first article is what repeat orders are checked against.
For a quotation, send the drawing with the head diameter and height, slot width and depth, thread pitch and overall length.
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Head diameter
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Head height
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Slot width
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Slot depth
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Thread pitch
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Length
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Sending a drawing? The form below does not take attachments. Email the PDF, DXF or STEP file to sst@szsst88.com with the part name and quantity in the subject line – the drawing is reviewed and a quotation follows.
+86 13143444311
sst@szsst88.com
