Theme parks are a fantastic American tradition. What’s more fun than strapping yourself to a metal seat that will hurtle you upside down at 80 mph? Harking back to the days of traveling carnival barkers and the roadside attractions (world’s largest frying pan!) of early U.S. highway culture, theme parks are a unique and colorful…
The Importance of Validating Torque Wrenches in Tire Shops When you’re running a tire shop, you’re not just selling tires. You’re selling safety and security, the knowledge that when a customer drives away, they’re driving on a set of wheels that’s safe for the road. As a matter of course, the work you do on…
Medical devices sold in the United States are subject to some of the most stringent manufacturing requirements in the world. Guidelines for every stage, from establishment registration to labeling, are detailed in U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulations. Inspections are regularly conducted to enforce FDA regulations, and fiduciary penalties are levied for noncompliance. In…
It may seem odd to think about the screws and bolts used in printed circuit boards. PCB isn’t automotive manufacturing, where great numbers of screws, bolts, and rivets hold everything together. The boards, after all, are printed; there aren’t that many screws, and these screws don’t hold the board together. Yet the screws in PCB…
Which is better—a canoe or a raft? A canoe is certainly faster and easier to maneuver. That’s gotta be the best, right? Nothing beats fast. On the other hand, rafts are more stable than tippy canoes and are better equipped to carry cargo. So, the real answer is, the best boat for you depends on…
A little bit of torque goes a long way in the world of electronics manufacturing. The ongoing miniaturization of components has resulted in smaller and smaller screws being used to hold together electronics products. At the same time, the criticality of delivering the proper amount of torque remains unchanged. Over-torquing fasteners can lead to deformed…
Setting up to tool an automotive plant can seem like a challenging process. There are many costs and requirements to consider and tight deadlines to meet on trim budgets. Thankfully, even though it can seem like a jungle, there is help to find along the way. Finding the right tools doesn’t mean you need to…
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…
I used to work at a manufacturing plant, and of all the different tasks I performed each day at that job, one of the most common was fastening screws into small electronic components. If I had to do these applications manually, I don’t think I would have lasted one whole shift. Fatigue would have set…
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…