Sophisticated Fastening Improve Manufacturing and Maintenance

eavy equipment manufacturing has become more and more powered fastening isn’t highly accurate either because Hhigh-tech. Reliability, safety and quality output were once its output corresponds with air pressure, which can reserved for critical applications like automotive assembly. Now, vary greatly due to several factors. Compressed air that heavy equipment manufacturers need traceable, reliable and isn’t clean or air funneled through a long hose can create accurate tools to achieve strict quality and safety standards. a loss of air pressure to the impact tool during tightening. Customers demand it to ensure the products they use are safe Impurities in air delivery can also decrease the final torque for the operators using the equipment. output. Since air pressure is correlated to torque, and they can’t see the quality of air going in, operators can be Manufacturers have many options available when it comes unaware that the torque is being compromised during the to the tools they use in heavy equipment assembly. Tool fastening process. options range from a basic tightening strategy to high-tech assembly. Here is a look at the fastening options available to Operators use pneumatic tools for applications that manufacturers today. require high torque. They are often used for larger bolts affixed to heavy equipment and agriculture machinery. Impact : An impact tightens a bolt and To avoid injury, people who use air tools also need to use is the fastest type of fastening tool. Impact wrenches are a reaction bar to offset the force of the torque applied to great for removing stubborn bolts and commonly used the fastener. Yet, the power of pneumatic tools comes with for heavy equipment maintenance and repair. The tools compromises. Pneumatic tools don’t have a transducer to offer tremendous value for the investment. To measure track traceability or to measure the torque being applied the torque an impact wrench achieves during fastening, operators need to test each bolt with a clicker . However, clicker torque wrenches measure only the minimum torque threshold, so there is risk of inaccurately measuring over-torqued bolts with this method. Impact wrenches tend to be louder than more advanced tools.

Pneumatic Fastening Tools: A pneumatic fastening tool is typically more powerful than an impact wrench. An air-

2019 Ingersoll Rand ® Company. All Rights Reserved. in real-time. Pneumatic tools only fasten bolts with one pencil. With the cordless tool, operators are more mobile speed and can’t be programmed to achieve multiple and worker safety increases due to lack of an air hose on speeds during the rundown process. the line.

Direct-current (DC) fastening tools: A tool controller For example, an east coast utility company had been powers these “smart” fastening tools, which transfers servicing its fleet using impact wrenches. The company had the current through a power cord. DC tools provide an issue ensuring bolts on its trucks were fully tightened an exceptional level of accuracy and traceability. The before they left the service garage. The company selected downside is that they are tethered to the power cord and the Ingersoll Rand® Cordless to make typically have a slower fastening speed. They also come sure it could track and prove bolts were fully tightened. with a costly initial investment. Integrating DC tools to While the company bought the tool for quality control, the a manufacturing facility requires outside experts and operators in the shop discovered other benefits. The noise technical training for the operators using the tools. level in the shop dropped, which reduced the company’s insurance premiums due to the decrease in net decibels Finding the torque and accuracy “sweet spot” workers were exposed to on a daily basis. Heavy equipment manufacturers find that high torque cordless fastening tools are highly accurate and traceable. When evaluating new tools for a facility, here are questions The QX Series™ Cordless Torque Multiplier from Ingersoll to ask to determine which tools are best for specific Rand® is a cordless fastening tool with advanced torque operations and how the new tools will integrate into control. The closed-loop transducer delivers precision, manufacturing lines: accuracy and traceable results. Operators can program yyWhat is the current facility infrastructure? What the tool can to achieve multiple speeds throughout the changes need to be implemented to accommodate the rundown process. This advanced setting is simple to new tools? implement. It alleviates over-tightening bolts and delivers yyWhat type of impact tools are currently being used to better accuracy. The tool records data for up to 1,200 meet fastening requirements? fastenings in the onboard computer, which eliminates the yyIs the equipment and machinery under repair regulated need to manually record torque values with paper and for safety? Do you need to track quality and fastening data to demonstrate the products meet regulatory guidelines? yyAre current tools fulfilling the company’s traceability requirements? yyWhat aspects of the fastening process are manual? Could these processes be streamlined by adding “smarter” tools? yyHow can a new type of fastening tool integrate with the current tool systems and with the IT department? yyAre operators requesting improvements to increase ergonomics?

No matter how bolts are tightened, one thing remains the same – safety is paramount. Bolts need to be tightened to torque every time to ensure bolt integrity and to prevent injuries to manufacturers and end-users.

By: Steve Diacumakos, Global Portfolio Leader, Industrial MRO and Applied Power Products and Director, Product Management and Marketing

Ingersoll Rand® Power Tools