New Torque Test Benches Speed Up Lineside Tool Testing

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28th August 2008

Source: Crane Electronics

The correct tightening of nuts and bolts is critical in product manufacture or assembly. Incorrect procedures can have major safety implications and can also have significant impact on product quality and lead to recalls. Line side testing of fastener assembly tools is therefore important and Crane Electronics’ latest generation of JRS Opta (Joint Rate Simulator) computer controlled test benches provides the solution for many industries. The JRS Opta has been designed for assembly tool performance testing and this is achieved by accurate and repetitive simulation of the joint.

The JRS Opta provides a fast and effective way of testing nutrunners, battery tools, impulse tools and torque wrenches that are used to carry out tightening operations. Importantly, the tools are tested under real shopfloor conditions - without the need to run tests on the production line, which could slow down productivity.

In operation, the joint behaviour for a particular tool is recorded in the assembly area using a Crane rotary transducer and read-out unit from the JRS Opta. The recorded information is then downloaded into the memory of the JRS Opta, which can then replicate the behaviour of the joint when used with nutrunners and battery tools. The JRS Opta’s’ hydraulic brakes can simulate a range of joint conditions from very ‘soft’ (20 degrees) to very ‘hard’ (720 degrees). The tool test cycle can be carried out very quickly and once the tool has finished its test cycle, the brake is automatically released for the next test cycle. This speeds up the tool test procedure, as there are no fixings to undo or joint kits to reconfigure.

The latest generation of JRS Opta test bench provides testing solutions for tools with working ranges of either 1 –180Nm or 5 – 500Nm. The JRS Opta can now also be supplied with a PC panel which incorporates an LCD flat screen and communicates directly with the JRS TorqueStar Opta data collector.

There are now also 2 software options, the Basic option is to use Crane Opta Comms, which is a simple package that allows the user to configure all of their test jobs on the PC and upload all of the data back to the PC.

The Advanced option to use Crane’s Opta Management. This is a high powered server based tools management system. It enables the user to control the following data: the linking of tools to processes, tool supplier details, tool service costs, data collection, custom generated reports and many more features.

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