DIGITAL TORQUE TESTER WITH NEW HIGH TORQUE RANGE

Due to the different characteristics of each application, car plants must use a wide range of tools to check torque on all critical fastenings. These might range from networked torque tools to mechanical click wrenches and mobile nutrunners. With the tools that are not networked, the manufacturer has to be assured that these “stand alone” tools are capable of the job. Furthermore, he needs to document that he regularly performs these tool capability tests.

An entry level solution to meet these requirements is a digital torque tester that can cover the wide torque ranges in the production environment and document the torque readings either by data download or print out. Crane Electronics has developed a digital torque tester that meets these requirements.

Both the software features and the torque range are truly modular. It is possible to initially buy it as a simple readout with a low torque range. If the requirements increase, e.g. a higher torque has to be covered and statistical analysis is required, it is possible to upgrade the unit with an additional torque transducer and SPC software.

The typical use of a digital torque tester is split 60/40 between power tools and wrenches with the torque range being higher for the first and being lower for the latter. This split is may also cause problems during the test procedure as most operators prefer to test torque wrenches horizontally and power tools vertically.

DTT Opta has interchangeable transducer units, these come either with vertical or horizontal orientation. Thus it would be possible to have a digital torque tester with a vertical transducer module with a torque range of 15-150Nm for power tool testing and a horizontal transducer module with a torque range of 0.4-4Nm for wrench testing.

The DTT Opta is now available with two new vertical transducer modules with a maximum torque rating of 75Nm and 150Nm respectively. There is currently a choice of 10 transducer modules.

Torque traceability is achieved by either printing to an optional integrated printer, or transferring data to a PC/laptop. Each torque reading can be time and date stamped. Software modules currently available for the DTT Opta range from basic storage to advanced storage, graphs and SPC (statistical process control). The software can be upgraded without sending the unit back to the manufacturer.