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Ford Case Study PDF Print
Torquestar Sets Tools For Escort Production

June 1998
Cars manufactured by Ford have a justifiably high reputation for quality and being, as motoring journalists would put it, "well screwed together". At the plant in Halewood, where the Escort family is assembled, Crane Electronics has supplied equipment which is used to set and audit the torque output of the pneumatic wrenches.

Every pneumatic wrench or "gun" on the production line is set up using a TorqueStar data collector and stationary transducer. A choice of two transducers is available, depending on the output of the gun, for torques up to 75 and 180Nm. Whenever a gun is replaced or repaired, before it is installed on the production line it is checked on the TorqueStar. If necessary, adjustments are made before the gun is released.

Phil Jinks of the Plant Engineering Department is responsible for ensuring each gun is correctly set. "We bought TorqueStar to replace a piece of equipment which was very old and which, eventually, failed on us. The Quality Control department was already using TorqueStars for monitoring the guns on the line and were pleased with the equipment. We therefore decided to install the same".

For the quality control function, TorqueStars are used with CheckStar rotary transducers fitted between the gun and the fastener. This combination measures the dynamic torque, angle and pulse count applied to each fastener. The residual torque can also be checked on any fastener that has already been tightened. By using statistical process control techniques it is possible to prevent the guns from drifting outside the tolerance bands and thus avoid a tool breakdown or fastener failure on the vehicle.

Clearly there is an advantage in using the same equipment throughout the plant, but Phil Jinks is satisfied that the TorqueStar is right for his needs. "It's undoubtedly better than the equipment we had before - more reliable and easy to use. Furthermore, the support we have had from Crane has been outstanding. They clearly understand the needs of the automotive industry when it comes to fast response".

Setting the correct torque for each pneumatic wrench is a vital stage in preparing for production. And checking the torque output of each one is an essential element of the quality control process. Crane's TorqueStars, CheckStars and stationary transducers have made these important procedures as simple and quick as possible at Halewood, helping Ford to build the Escorts to as high a standard as possible.