Confirmat screws and cam locks both join two panels at a right angle, both are bought by the thousand, and both are described by suppliers as "strong". Beyond that they share almost nothing. A confirmat is a threaded joint: a hardened screw cuts its own mating thread into the panel core and holds by interference. A cam lock is a friction joint: an eccentric cam rotates against a bolt head and holds by clamping force.
The distinction explains everything downstream. It explains why a confirmat pulls out at several times the load a cam lock takes, why a cam lock survives thirty assembly cycles and a confirmat does not survive four, why flat-pack furniture uses cam locks despite their lower strength, and why the two are frequently specified together in the same cabinet.
This comparison is written for the person making the specification — the engineer or product manager choosing a joint for a defined application. It covers the mechanics of both, the numbers that differ, the failure modes of each, and a decision framework based on the variables that actually change the answer. It draws on 15 years of manufacturing connecting fittings for cabinet and furniture producers across 40+ countries.
Confirmat screws and Euro screws by size
The Two Mechanisms
How a Confirmat Screw Holds
A confirmat — also called a Euro screw or a furniture screw — is a hardened steel screw with a large-diameter cylindrical shank and a coarse, deep thread. It is driven through a clearance hole in the first panel and into the edge of the second panel, where the thread cuts a matching thread into the panel core.
The joint holds by thread interference in the panel core. Because the thread is coarse and the engaged volume is large, the load is distributed over a substantial mass of material rather than concentrated at a few contact points. This is why a confirmat performs far better in particle board than its diameter would suggest — it does not rely on the panel's tensile strength, only on the core material's ability to resist the thread being pulled out.
The characteristics that follow from this:
- One part, one operation. No separate housing, no bolt, no dowel.
- No positioning tolerance. The screw defines where the joint goes. There is no means to take up error.
- The thread in the panel is the weak link, and it degrades every time the screw is removed.
- The head is visible on the outer face unless capped, plugged, or countersunk.
How a Cam Lock Holds
A cam lock — a Minifix-type connector — is a three-part system. A cam housing sits in a bore in the face of the first panel. A bolt, anchored in a dowel driven into the edge of the second panel, projects into the housing bore. Rotating the cam brings an eccentric lobe against the bolt head and pulls the two panels together.
The joint holds by clamping force generated by the cam's eccentric geometry. It is a friction lock, not a threaded connection, and the load path runs from the bolt, through the cam, into the housing, and out into the panel around the housing bore.
The characteristics that follow:
- Three parts and two bores, but the bolts are usually pre-installed at the factory, so the end user performs only the cam rotation.
- Invisible when assembled — the housing sits in the internal face and the bolt in the panel edge.
- Tolerant of bore position error, because the cam has a take-up range and the bolt can move within the housing.
- Friction-based, so vibration can release it.
Connecting fittings and panel connectors range
Head to Head: The Numbers That Differ
The figures below are indicative working ranges from our own testing and from published supplier data, measured in 18mm particle board at nominal density around 680 kg/m³, dry, at room temperature. Board density and thickness change all of them materially — these are comparisons, not specifications for any individual part.
| Attribute | Confirmat Screw | Cam Lock (Minifix Type) |
| Parts per joint | 1 (+ optional cap) | 3 (housing, bolt, dowel) |
| Bores required | 2 diameters in one stepped operation | 2 bores, 2 diameters, separate operations |
| Face hole | 7mm clearance (panel A) | 15 or 20mm housing bore (panel A face) |
| Edge hole | 5mm pilot (panel B edge) | 8mm bolt dowel bore (panel B edge) |
| Bore position tolerance | None — joint follows the screw | ±0.2-0.3mm absorbed by cam take-up |
| Pull-out, panel B edge (indicative) | 1,800-3,500 N | 400-900 N |
| Governing failure | Thread stripping in the core | Bolt pull-out from the dowel |
| Assembly torque | 3-4 Nm working; strips around 5-6 Nm | 1.5-3 Nm; housing cracks above ~4 Nm |
| Anti-vibration | Good — threaded interference joint | Poor — friction lock, backs off |
| Disassembly cycles before loss | 2-4 | 20-30+ |
| Visible when assembled | Yes, head on outer face | No, fully concealed |
| Board thickness, practical | 16-25mm | 16-25mm |
| Minimum edge thickness | ~16mm | ~16mm |
| Tooling at assembly | Correct drive bit, torque control | Correct drive bit, cam wrench or bit |
| Relative part cost | Lower | Higher — three parts |
| Relative assembly time | Lower per joint | Higher, unless pre-installed |
Read the pull-out row carefully. It is the single largest difference between the two, and it is not marginal: a confirmat typically holds three to six times what a cam lock holds in the same board. That number is also the least understood, because catalogue load ratings for cam locks are frequently quoted for the housing's resistance to being pulled out of the face panel — a different load path from the one that actually fails.
Furniture connecting fittings and cam systems
Bore Geometry: Where Specification Errors Start
Both connectors are more sensitive to bore accuracy than to any other variable, and they are sensitive in opposite ways.
Confirmat Bores
The confirmat requires a stepped bore: a clearance diameter through the first panel and a smaller pilot diameter in the edge of the second. A dedicated stepped bit performs both in one pass, which is why production lines use one rather than two drills.
| Bore | Diameter | Depth | Function |
| Panel A, through | 7mm | Full thickness of panel A | Clearance for the shank; must not grip the thread |
| Panel B, edge | 5mm | Approximately screw length minus panel A thickness | Pilot for the thread; sets the effective core diameter |
Two errors dominate. A clearance hole that is too small forces the screw to cut thread in the first panel as well, so the joint never closes — the screw bottoms out against the first panel instead of pulling the second one up. A pilot hole that is too small splits the panel edge or raises the board surface; a pilot that is too large strips the thread immediately.
Cam Lock Bores
The cam system requires two bores of different diameters, and depth control matters as much as diameter.
| Bore | Diameter | Depth | Function |
| Panel A, housing | 15mm or 20mm | Matched to housing height + clearance | Houses the cam; too deep and the bolt cannot engage |
| Panel B, bolt dowel | 8mm | Matched to dowel length | Anchors the bolt; the weakest link in the system |
Housing bore depth is the more common error. Bore it too deep and the cam sits recessed, so the bolt head passes over the lobe instead of being captured — the joint appears to tighten but does not clamp. Bore it too shallow and the housing stands proud, holding the joint open by the amount of the protrusion.
For both systems, a practical tolerance band of ±0.1mm on diameter with position held within ±0.2mm covers production boring. Where a joint must be positioned precisely, that is an argument for the cam lock, not the confirmat.
Load Behaviour Under Real Conditions
Catalogue figures describe a single joint loaded in a single direction. Cabinet joints are loaded in several directions at once, and the ranking changes with direction.
| Loading Direction | Confirmat | Cam Lock | Notes |
| Tension along the screw axis | Excellent | Moderate | The confirmat's core thread is far stronger |
| Shear across the joint face | Excellent | Good | Both carry shear well; the screw or bolt is in shear |
| Bending / racking of the assembly | Good | Weak | Governed by clamping force; cams release under cyclic racking |
| Sustained vibration | Good | Poor | Friction lock backs off; thread interference does not |
| Cyclic load, high count | Good until thread fatigue | Moderate — housing fatigue | Zinc alloy housings can crack under repeated load |
| Off-axis / misaligned bores | Poor — no take-up | Good — cam absorbs error | The cam's main structural advantage |
The racking distinction matters most in practice. A cabinet is a box, and a box under load racks — the square tries to become a parallelogram. Cam-locked joints resist racking only through clamping friction between the panel faces. Confirmat joints resist it through the screw's own shear strength plus the clamping of the joint. This is why cam-lock cabinets are usually reinforced with a back panel, a rail, or both, and why a confirmat cabinet frequently is not.
Board thickness sets a hard limit on both. Below roughly 16mm edge thickness there is not enough material for either connector's thread or dowel to develop meaningful capacity. Above roughly 25mm, the confirmat's drive torque rises and its screw length becomes unwieldy, while the cam lock's bolt cannot reach far enough into the joint to be useful. For thick-board and heavy-load structural joints, a housing connector that locks mechanically by conical interference is the appropriate family rather than either of these two.
Disassembly and Reuse
This is where the two connectors diverge most sharply, and where the wrong choice causes the most support calls.
A cam lock is designed to be taken apart. It is the flat-pack mechanism precisely because the customer assembles it at home, disassembles it when moving house, and reassembles it. Twenty to thirty cycles are realistic with no loss of function, because no thread is cut and no material is deformed during assembly — the cam simply rotates against the bolt.
A confirmat is not designed to be taken apart. Every time the screw is removed and re-driven, the thread it cut in the panel core is degraded. The first re-drive typically retains most of the original capacity; the second and third drop sharply, because the thread crests break down and the hole enlarges. Beyond three or four cycles the screw will turn without tightening.
| Cycle | Confirmat Retained Capacity | Cam Lock Retained Capacity |
| First assembly | 100% | 100% |
| 1st disassembly and re-drive | 70-90% | ~100% |
| 2nd re-drive | 50-70% | ~100% |
| 3rd re-drive | 30-50%, hole visibly enlarged | ~100% |
| 4th+ re-drive | Stripped — requires a larger screw or a repair insert | ~100% |
Where the answer is neither: if a joint needs both high strength and repeated disassembly, a threaded insert set into the panel converts a degrading board thread into a durable machine thread. That combination costs more than either single connector and is the correct choice for furniture that will be reassembled repeatedly under load — exhibition displays, demountable partitions, rental and contract furniture.
Threaded inserts for reusable joints
Failure Modes of Each
Most field failures trace back to a specification or installation error rather than to the connector's design. The table below is the one we use when a customer reports a failure.
| Connector | Failure | Root Cause | Prevention |
| Confirmat | Head sheared off | Over-torque, or a screw hardened too far and made brittle | Torque control; correct specification for the drive |
| Confirmat | Thread stripped in panel | Over-torque, or re-driving into a degraded hole | Cap torque at 3-4 Nm; limit re-use to two cycles |
| Confirmat | Panel edge split | Pilot hole too small, or screw too close to the board end | Correct stepped bit; keep edge distance at 3× diameter |
| Confirmat | Shank bent or snapped | Joint not clamped, so the screw carries bending at the face | Check that the joint closes; use a clamp during assembly |
| Confirmat | Joint will not close | Clearance hole too small; thread cut in panel A | Verify the through-hole diameter |
| Cam lock | Bolt pulled out of dowel | Load above the dowel's grip in the panel edge | Keep the load within the cam system's rating; add a rail |
| Cam lock | Cam released in service | Vibration overcoming friction locking | Use a mechanically locking connector where vibration exists |
| Cam lock | Housing cracked | Over-torque beyond ~4 Nm, or zinc alloy fatigue under cyclic load | Cap torque; specify housing material for the cycle count |
| Cam lock | Cam slot stripped (cam-out) | Wrong drive size, or torque applied after the cam seats | Correct bit; stop turning once the joint closes |
| Cam lock | Joint loose but appears tight | Housing bore too deep, so the lobe passes over the bolt head | Control bore depth |
The pattern in that table: confirmat failures cluster around torque and pilot geometry, because the connector is doing hard work in a low-strength material and has very little margin. Cam lock failures cluster around the bolt dowel and the housing bore, because the system's capacity is limited by its weakest part and by a bore depth that is easy to get wrong.
Testing Both Properly
Published load figures for panel connectors are frequently quoted from idealised test pieces. A comparison is only useful if the test conditions are stated alongside it, and four conditions dominate the result.
| Test Variable | Why It Changes the Answer | How to Control It |
| Panel density | Core density drives both thread strip and dowel grip | Test in the actual board, at the actual density and supplier |
| Panel thickness | Governs the engaged volume and the edge distance available | Test at production thickness, not a convenient one |
| Moisture content | Damp board is weaker and dimensionally unstable | Condition samples before testing |
| Load direction | Tension and racking rank the two connectors differently | Test the direction the joint will actually see |
| Cycle count | Cam locks are affected by cyclic fatigue, confirmats by re-driving | Include a cyclic programme, not only a single pull |
Our own pull-out testing on 18mm particle board shows a consistent pattern: the confirmat's failure is always in the panel, and the cam lock's failure is always at the dowel. Neither connector fails in its steel. This is the practical reason a heavier version of either part raises cost without raising capacity — the limit is the board, and the specification effort is better spent on the board, the bore geometry, or the joint's reinforcement than on a stronger connector.
Testing follows ASTM protocols on our production, with corrosion performance to EN 1670 where the connector is exposed, and bore-tolerance and cycle-test data available per part number. Our production holds ISO 9001 certification, and dimensional and material certificates are issued per batch on request.
Decision Framework
| Requirement | Better Choice | Reason |
| Maximum joint strength in particle board | Confirmat | Three to six times the pull-out of a cam lock |
| Concealed joint, visible panel | Cam lock | Nothing shows on the outer face |
| Repeated disassembly and reassembly | Cam lock | Twenty to thirty cycles with no loss |
| Flat-pack shipped to the end user | Cam lock | Pre-installed bolts; the user rotates a cam |
| Sustained vibration | Confirmat | Threaded interference, not friction |
| Bore position error likely | Cam lock | Cam take-up absorbs ±0.2-0.3mm |
| Fastest assembly per joint | Confirmat | One part, one operation, no cam rotation |
| Lowest part cost | Confirmat | One part against three |
| High racking load in the assembled box | Confirmat, plus a back panel | Clamping friction alone is not enough |
| Board thinner than 16mm | Neither | Insufficient edge material; use a different joint |
| Thick board, heavy structural load | Mechanical housing connector | Locks by conical interference, not friction |
| Strength and repeated disassembly together | Confirmat into a threaded insert | Durable machine thread in the panel |
The two most defensible rules for specification:
Engineered connector solutions by application
Mixed Systems and the Layout Question
Most production cabinets use both, and the discipline is to decide which connector plays which role.
A common and effective arrangement: cam locks for the concealed, customer-facing joints (the ones the end user assembles and may disassemble), and confirmats for the joints that are assembled once at the factory and never touched again — the fixed shelf, the rail, the sub-assembly. The result is a product that assembles easily for the customer and holds rigidly in service.
The failure of mixed systems is almost always a load-path mistake: a cam-locked joint assumed to be carrying racking load, with no back panel and no rail to carry it. If the design relies on clamping friction to keep a box square, it will not stay square. Decide which connector carries strength and which provides assembly convenience, then size and reinforce each for its actual role rather than for the joint it happens to be near.
Conclusion
Confirmat screws and cam locks are not competing versions of the same product. One is a threaded structural joint that trades reusability and concealment for strength; the other is a friction clamping system that trades strength for concealment, tolerance absorption, and repeat assembly. Neither is the better connector in general, and any specification that treats them as interchangeable will be wrong at one end or the other.
Key takeaways:
At Shaxi Hardware, confirmat screws, cam lock systems, housing connectors, and threaded inserts are manufactured in our ISO 9001 certified facility, with documented pull-out and cycle-test data, bore tolerance specifications, and corrosion performance tested to EN 1670. Confirmat screws are produced in case-hardened and hardened carbon steel with trivalent zinc finishes; cam systems are supplied in zinc alloy and steel with hardened steel bolts.
Request connector test data for your panel specification
Additional Resources
- Confirmat Screws and Euro Screws
- Connecting Fittings
- Threaded Inserts and Sockets
- Connector Selection Support
- ISO 9001 Manufacturing
About Shaxi Hardware
With over 15 years of experience manufacturing furniture hardware and connecting fittings, Shaxi Hardware serves brands, cabinet producers, and flat-pack manufacturers across 40+ countries. Our ISO 9001 certified production facility manufactures confirmat screws, cam lock systems, housing and funnel connectors, connecting fittings, threaded inserts, and custom fasteners, with documented pull-out and cycle-test data and corrosion performance tested to EN 1670. Bore tolerances, load ratings tested in the intended panel material, and material certificates are available per batch. Custom connector geometry and mixed-system design support are available through our OEM engineering service.
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