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Vickers Systems Case Study Print E-mail

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Torquestar Reduces Downtime And Improves Quality

June 2002
Vickers Systems, a leading worldwide manufacturer of hydraulic valves and pumps, has found that using a TorqueStar and CheckStar from Crane Electronics has dramatically reduced the amount of downtime as well as improving the product quality. The TorqueStar and CheckStar are used for auditing the torque that is applied by the pneumatic wrenches used on the production lines. Whereas the torque was previously checked off-line, it is now done in situ so that the actual torque that is applied to the fastener is being measured. This method is far more accurate, allowing the torque to be far better controlled.

The benefits of using the Crane Electronics equipment have been three-fold. First, the downtime has been slashed because each tool is only required for 5-10 minutes, not one hour. Second, the torque applied by each tool is now controlled more closely, leading to an improvement in the product quality. Third, the maintenance of the tools has improved, allowing tools to be repaired in time whereas, previously, tools were sometimes beyond repair by the time they were withdrawn from service.

With the previous bench-mounted equipment, Vickers Systems had to remove each tool from the line, set it up in the workshop, check and adjust it, then return it to the line. This would take about an hour for each tool, but now each tool can be checked on the line, taking only five or ten minutes. About 340 tools of various types are being checked with the new torque auditing equipment, including air-powered pulsed wrenches and conventional manual torque wrenches.

In use, the CheckStar rotary transducer is fitted in-line between the tool and the socket that is driving the fastener and, when the fastener has been tightened, the results are displayed on the TorqueStar. As the readings are stored, Vickers can immediately see how the new reading compares with the previous one. This in turn highlights the need to alter maintenance procedures for some of the tools as they were drifting from the set torque sooner than expected.