The Loading Bench by Mountz Inc. is a laboratory grade instrument designed to enable accurate torque wrench calibration with less physical effort. The Loading Bench simulates torque application conditions with minimum effort and enhanced safety for the calibration technician assuring a more accurate calibration. The calibration instrument enables quick and easy torque wrench calibration and presetting, independent of human influence or transducer side and end load factors. The Mountz Inc. Loading Bench is designed to calibrate torque wrenches in accordance with International Standards ISO6789:2007.

The drive system of the Loading Bench assures the load application eliminates potential operator induced test errors. Built for durable use, the Loading Bench reduces the operator effort required to attain and sustain torque during the calibration process. The Loading Bench features a large handle wheel, which operates in clockwise and counterclockwise directions to allow smooth manual loading.

A torque wrench is considered a measuring tool and must be properly calibrated and maintained on a preventative maintenance and calibration schedule. The adjustable design of the Load Bench allows it to accommodate various size torque wrenches that can be tested with the unit. The gearbox design of the Loading Bench allows for high torque to be applied with minimum effort required from the calibration technician.

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Small torque tools go out of calibration with use. To maintain consistent accuracy, small torque tools must be checked periodically for wear or defective parts. A small power or hand torque tool is a measuring tool that must be properly calibrated and maintained.

Mountz, Inc., a specialist in the design and manufacture of torque control products, offers the LPX torque sensor for testing small torque tools. The LPX is a low torque sensor designed for calibrating and testing small hand screwdrivers, torque wrenches and power tools. With it’s with low profile design, the calibration instrument can be used for automated applications, by mounting it to a palletized system. This saves time as there is need to remove the driver from the robot or off the automated system for calibration. These versatile torque sensor is used in conjunction with a torque tester. Mountz offers various LPX models covering a torque range from 1 inch-ounce up to 20 inch-pounds.

In the manufacturing and assembly world, tightening, controlling, or measuring torque fasteners is imperative for production efficiency. An inadequately torqued fastener can vibrate or work loose; conversely, if the tension is too high, the fastener can snap or strip its threads. Faced with these problems, manufacturers are realizing that precise torque control can spell the difference between a safe, reliable, and economical product and complete disaster.

Using a quality torque sensor and torque tester has become increasingly important for many companies to ensure that proper torque is being applied. Testing torque is a science and not something that can be left to chance.

A manufacturer of large industrial gas engines had a torque application for fastening an industrial engine block in a washing chamber after the milling process. The large gas engines are designed and built for demanding applications in waste water treatment plants, power plants, oil & gas fields and other energy applications all over the world.

The engineers were using impact wrenches for the fastening application, but the impact tools were damaging the threads in the engine block due to the lack of proper torque control. An impact wrench is destructive by nature with its “hammering” design. These tools are not ergonomically friendly to an operator and require a high maintenance budget.

A hydraulic wrench was the next tool that the engineers tried using for the fastening application, but it was increasing the manufacturing time significantly and increasing costs. Hydraulic wrenches are notorious for their heavy ratchets, bulky compressors and laborious operation. Hydraulic tools operate through a hydraulic ram that extends and retracts, ratcheting the head. This is a long and tedious process that requires the operator to activate and stand by the pump with a hand-held controller.

The engineers contacted Mountz Inc. and inquired about other cost effective torque control solutions that were available to resolve their fastening application. Mountz demonstrated the CLDpneumatic torque multiplier as an option to resolve their critical torque application issue. The CLD torque multiplier shuts-off when the pre-set torque is achieved. It’s a non-impacting tool and operates at a smooth, continuous rotation. The engineers approved the torque multiplier for their application.

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Joint relaxation occurs to some extent in all fastened joints and is caused by the surfaces of the part embedding or by “soft parts”, such as gaskets, collapsing under the clamping force. For correctly designed joints, relaxation is small and can be virtually ignored. However, relaxation is a particular problem on joints where gaskets, or parts such as spring washers, are present. On these joints it can take a long time before the joint settles and results in a reduction in clamping until the condition has stabilized.

The physical phenomenon for the collapse of material is called “creep.” All material creep to some extent. For example, glass is a liquid and creeps over time. That is why an old glass window may show “waves” at the bottom of the window.

The creep is most obvious and dramatic right after the force has been applied. In many tightening applications the majority of the creep, reducing the clamp load (and sometimes static torque), appears within the first 10-50 milliseconds.

The techniques that can be used to reduce the effect of creep are;

1. Torque the fastener, undo the joint and retighten.
2. Redesigning of the joint (for example, replace soft gaskets with sealing compound).
3. Torque the fastener, wait briefly and then apply again (can be repeated in several steps).
4. Low RPM of the tool at final clamp down.

With a given design, action 3 above is quite commonly used. It is especially easy to achieve if the application is tightened with a fixture spindle in a station but with the introduction of sophisticated pneumatic and electric power tool sit becomes more and more common even for those. However, the negative ergonomic ramifications should be considered if the tool is not suspended by a tool balancer or supported using a torque arm.

Torque tools go out of calibration with use. Calibrating a torque tool is a fine-tuning process of bringing the tool back within its tolerance. Torque testers can also be used for quick tools tests on the line or in the lab to determine whether torque tools are holding a given setting.

A regular torque tool calibration and re-calibration guarantees the operator repeatable accuracy and adherence to international standards. Torque testing also ensures torque equipment is operating to peak performance and can highlight potential tooling problems before they arise perhaps due to tool wear or broken components.

The TorqueLab® LTT is a laboratory grade instrument designed for testing and monitoring torque applications and is commonly used for quality control, R&D and calibration applications. As an advanced torque controlling, monitoring and documentation solution, LTT torque tester is used for testing or calibrating hand torque screwdrivers, electric screwdrivers, pneumatic screwdrivers, torque tools as well as a torque wrench calibration. The LTT torque analyzer features the EZ-Plug & Play technology, which is an auto-recognition system with Mountz torque sensors.