Deep down in a coal mine, the foreman faced lengthy and costly dilemmas for two key maintenance applications. The first maintenance application was for removing and re-tightening the bolts during the servicing process for “Mining Heads” used on the industrial machines attached to the vehicles underground. The “Mining Heads” are used to channel through rock and extract the coal from the underground mine. Being the deepest coal mine in the US, 5 miles deep, bringing these Mining Heads out of the mine each time for service was not economical and would create too much down time. It would take 4 days to bring the Mining Heads to the surface.

The other key maintenance application challenge for the foreman was servicing the conveyor systems underground. The conveyors are used to carry the coal out of the mines and are loaded onto either barges or trucks. These conveyors can take up to 7 years to build, and can expand over 10 miles if needed. The rollers and expansions pieces of the conveyor system have to be serviced frequently and bringing these parts out of the mine was not practical and would be too costly.

The maintenance foreman was looking for simple, heavy-duty tool that would not require costly maintenance and not be an ergonomic issue for his staff to use. Selecting the right heavy torque tool for the job was crucial. The maintenance foreman tried using impact wrenches for both applications, but the tools were not ergonomically friendly to the operators and required a high maintenance budget. The Impact wrenches are destructive by nature with its “hammering” design.

Then the maintenance foreman tried a hydraulic wrench. The bulky compressor and laborious operation for the tool wasn’t the solution. The hydraulic tool operates through a hydraulic ram that extends and retracts, ratcheting the head. It was a long and tedious process that required the operator to be more activate and stand by the pump with a hand-held controller. The tool was heavy and took too long to set up and operate. The foreman needed a tool that was more portable and took less time to set up.

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In nearly every heavy industrial application, turning threaded fasteners – nuts and bolts – is generally viewed by two criteria: (1) the need to fasten tightly enough to prevent movement of parts and achieve a good seal without exceeding the fastener’s elasticity level, and (2) successful removal of fasteners after long periods of environmental exposure to harsh conditions. Yet, ensuring you select the right torque tool for the job can be crucially influenced by the type of torque power it delivers.

When installing heavy-duty fasteners, there are times when you want just a little more power, or in other instances, a lot more power. After all, when it comes to turning nuts and bolts, especially stubborn corroded ones, what could be more basic than power? The seemingly apparent answer to that question can be profoundly consequential: You need controlled power. That is, controlled “torque.” Not only that, ideally you need smooth torque, with continuous rotation. Otherwise, you could outdo yourself and strip threads, break bolt heads or even cause personal injury.Historical approaches to working with heavy-duty threaded fasteners have aimed at sheer torque power, using long lever arms and heavy hammers on slugging wrenches. More recently, the hydraulic wrench has been viewed as the solution to many problems that require serious torque. But hydraulic wrenches are notorious for their heavy ratchets, bulky compressors and laborious operation. And they’re not cheap.

Technicians are finding that the best solution for applying torque power today is with a complete range of torque control products, including manual and powered torque wrenches and torque multipliers. From less than a few foot pounds up to more than 100 thousand foot-pounds, these torque control tools provide “continuous” torque, making it easier and often safer to assemble and service-threaded fasteners while reducing application problems and tool costs.

The advantages of continuous rotation, as provided by torque multipliers, are especially beneficial when it comes to heavy-duty torque fastening applications. 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.

On the other hand, continuous rotation tools eliminate the ratcheting and hammering, producing the correct torque values through smooth, constant gear manipulation. Mountz Torque Multipliers are a good example of continuous torque for heavy-duty use and are proven to achieve the correct torque values in a quicker, more cost-efficient manner.

A shop foreman working at a worldwide supplier of steam turbines, compressors and other turbomachinery for the oil and gas markets, replaced a hydraulic torque wrench system with a Mountz, Inc. CLS pneumatic torque multiplier at an oil field maintenance facility in Louisiana.

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Mountz unveiled its new trade show booth at the Assembly Technology Expo at the end of September in Chicago. Mountz showcased several new products during the event including FlexPower pulse tools,PosiControl Torque Arms and brushless electric screwdrivers. Engineers that visited the Mountz booth were able to get a preview of our new battery torque screwdrivers with torque up to 30 N.m., which will be released in November.

The new trade show booth design, provided engineers easy access and viewing of the various Mountz products on display. This included torque analyzers, torque testers, torque sensors, torque wrenches, electric screwdrivers, pneumatic screwdrivers, torque screwdrivers, torque multipliers, assembly tools, pulse tools, screw counters, tool balancers and other torque tools.

While many exhibitors at the Assembly Technology Expo experienced a decline of up to 20% in booth attendance, Mountz saw a 50% increase in attendees visiting the new booth display and new products.

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