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Aiwa Case Study Print E-mail
Torque Auditing Ensures Hi-Fi Quality

July 1998
Audio hi-fi equipment is assembled by Aiwa Wales Manufacturing Limited to the most stringent quality assurance standards. In line with this approach, and in accordance with its ISO procedures, the company ensures that all of the screws used in the assembly are tightened to the correct torque. Three Crane TorqueStar calibration units with in-line rotary transducers carry out weekly checks on the pneumatic and electric screwdrivers employed on the production lines. Furthermore, checks are carried out each time one of the production lines is changed to assemble a different product.

Until Aiwa introduced the Crane equipment , a more primitive static check system was in use which took a relatively long time. For that reason the torque checks had to be carried out during the lunch-break or outside normal working hours. By using TorqueStars the company is able to carry out the checks in much less time and these can be completed during production, saving around 13 man-hours each month.

In addition to the time savings, there is another major advantage. Measuring dynamic torque ensures that the actual torque applied to the fastener is checked, not just the torque output from the tool. This facility has reduced to virtually zero the number of rejects due to over-tightened screws, saving on rework, which can be considerably expensive, compared with getting it right-first-time.