Best is a relative term. When you’re choosing a torque wrench or a line of torque wrenches for your automotive business, the best torque wrench isn’t necessarily the one that’s earned the most blue ribbons. It isn’t the most precise torque wrench ever created or the one that generates the most force. Rather, it’s the…
If you’re in the automotive aftermarket as a shop owner, master mechanic, or equipment specialist, you’ve undoubtedly heard of torque—it’s how much rotating force an engine throws out, the engine’s ability to make the crankshaft spin. Diesel and electric motors produce more of it than gasoline motors, and you need it when you’re carrying a…
In the aerospace manufacturing industry, the required reading is somewhat dry; there isn’t a lot of consideration of the human factors involved, i.e. the people who make the planes and who fly in them. As such, conscientious industry employees may want to pick up a copy of Arthur Miller’s book All My Sons and flip…
For many industries, building a product is only the beginning. In order to compete with other manufacturers creating similar products, it’s essential to be as efficient as possible with your assembly operations. At the same time, many industries require extensive production oversight to comply with regulatory bodies and quality assurance necessities. To meet the demands…
Automatic screw feeder drivers are, by design, easy to use. For operators, the screw feeder (also known as a screw presenter or screw dispenser) replaces an open bin or shaker tree as their screw supply. They simply touch the tip of their tool to the screw presented by the presenter, turn, then fasten it into…
Our businesses are always moving forward into the future. Over and over again, it’s time to sit down and design a new prototype, update older designs, or reconfigure an assembly plant for a new project. But while projects and prototypes constantly change, one thing stays the same: it’s important to design your processes as efficiently…
I find that with some jobs, time can be my enemy. I used to work at a manufacturing plant that assembled electronic products, and part of my daily work involved fastening screws into circuit boards and other small components. With more and more pressing deadlines to meet, my company continuously looked for ways to help…
Ever heard the old maxim, “Work smart, not hard”? In my experience, this saying is definitely true when it comes to tightening and loosening heavy-duty bolts and other fasteners. Under normal circumstances, it can be grueling work, requiring various amounts of elbow grease. You have to tighten the bolt sufficiently to keep parts from moving…