Robotics, computerization, and electronic mechanization have brought state-of-the-art automation to modern industrial plants.  Thus, the need to perform quality control testing and torque measurement is even more critical to achieve a return-on-investment.  Quality control testing has been neglected or downplayed by manufacturers for many years; however, a greater need for high-quality merchandise and competitive pricing has made high-level quality control absolutely necessary, a requirement that demands more testing and measuring right on the assembly line.

One area of quality control that is extremely critical is torque control. It is critical because it is a major component for quality manufacturing and has a direct impact on bottom line issues like product quality, reliability, safety, and even liability. Controlling torque precisely keeps a fastener from vibrating or working loose, or if tension is too high, from snapping the bolt in half or stripping its threads. A off-road vehicle manufacturer was all too aware of the requirements of precision torque control.

The quality manager for an off-road vehicle manufacturer said, “The way we were torquing fasteners was not very accurate and was very time consuming, so it was easy to over- or under-torque a fastener on any given joint. We knew we needed to improve our ability to accurately measure torque, especially when we got into the ATV market where quality control criteria was more stringent.”

For many years, torque control on their assembly lines consisted of using impact wrenches to snug down fasteners, then applying final torque using click wrenches. And the facility didn’t perform torque tests or audit the tools.

Read the rest of this page »

A heater manufacturing company was experiencing improper torque control, which was costing them money in rework time and product being damaged by the assembly tools that they were using on the production floor. The heater manufacturer assembles floorboard heaters and in-wall bathroom heaters for residential construction.  A deformation with the coated sheet metal used to house the heating element in the floorboard unit occurred during the fastening process.

The production manager started a root cause analysis program to eliminate this costly production problem. They started to test the process and determine what was causing the issue. Using a torque analyzer system they did some destructive testing. They wanted to first determine “at what torque value” that was applied during the fastening process would cause the deformation in the product’s coated sheet metal.

Once the proper torque value was determined for the product, they next examined the pneumatic tools being used in the assembly process. The pneumatic torque screwdrivers were set once every six months or at the time of purchase at a preset torque value. This torque value, however, was derived from a chart supplied by the fastener manufacturer, which was at 80% of the fastener yield value. The torque value did not account for the material the fastener was clamping together, which was causing product deformation, paint chipping, increased rework, and decreased their productivity.

Read the rest of this page »

The TorqueLab®, LTT-Series, is a torque tester that offers portability, expandability and documentation control. Meeting the demands to test multiple torque ranges for various torque tools used in production, maintenance and calibration labs, the LTT features the EZ-Plug & Play technology, which is an auto-recognition system for Mountz torque sensors.  The torque tester is designed for torque calibration, joint testing, auditing or for force and load measurement or verification of load cells.

The EZ-Plug & Play feature of the LTT facilitates and expedites the process of setting up and running tool tests, as well as the transfer, analysis and storage of test data for ISO/SPC documentation purposes. The combined hard-software manufacturing solution offers tool testing, graphing capabilities and a graphical menu for easy navigation.

As an advanced torque controlling, monitoring and documentation solution, LTT enables operators and engineers to ensure product quality, safety and reliability promptly in a variety of manufacturing environments. The LTT torque tester can calibrate hand screwdrivers, pneumatic tools, torque wrenches, and power tools to avoid over tightening problems such as stripped threads and under tightening problems, which can increase liability and risk of recall.

Read the rest of this page »