TorqueStar Gets Its Wings

At BAE SYSTEMS Airbus UK in Filton, Bristol, a Crane Electronics TorqueStar is being used to check the integrity of wrenches and air tools used to tighten the thousands of bolts and fasteners used to manufacture the wings of Airbus aircraft.

The Crane equipment was purchased because the existing testing equipment needed to be updated to measure the torques required for bolts used on the new Airbus A340-600. It is necessary for some of the fasteners, which are made of materials such as titanium, to be tightened to torque values in excess of 1000 Nm. The TorqueStar data collector - connected to a CheckStar rotary transducer, is also used to check wrenches used to tighten much smaller fasteners with lower torque values. The assembly process also uses many pulse tools which could not be tested on the previously used equipment.

Every fastening tool in the Wing Assembly area is checked in the on-site calibration workshop on a regular three to six month cycle, depending on type of tool and its usage. Calibration Team Leader, Geoff Warner comments: “There is a different tool used for tightening every different type of fastener used on the wing assemblies, and each one is adjusted to an individual torque setting. The TorqueStar has made the task of checking this equipment far simpler and quicker.”�

The TorqueStar is used in conjunction with both CheckStars and stationary transducers. Pulse tools and screwdrivers are set to a lower torque value, so that they cannot accidentally over-tighten a fastener, causing stress and potential failure. The final adjustment of fasteners is by torque wrenches which are accurately set by the TorqueStar.