Torque control is a core process that is often vital to a successful manufacturing strategy. However, fasteners can be a significant source of poor quality and scrap that negatively impacts production. When companies are unable to improve the process in-house, they look for outside assistance - which is usually a search that begins and ends at new hardware. This article explores how to improve torque processes without expensive hardware, and instead how to combine current capabilities with Manufacturing Execution System (MES) control to drive zero defects.
First, a case against over-investment in hardware: while there are modern tooling solutions on the market to solve a variety of torque problems, these hardware solutions have a number of pitfalls. Current “smart” tools are islands of automation and have limited knowledge of overall part requirements or mistake-proofing beyond tightening. Fastening controllers are time consuming to change, especially when adding or adjusting for new models, changes in the line, and different build options. Additionally, hardware solutions lack security and revision control to prevent change of specification and improper change management. Finally, new hardware is expensive, often requiring single-sourcing a vendor which limits cost competition and choice of the best fastening solution for each fastener.