Every manufacturing company should have a quality management system (QMS). In many industries, it’s required by law. In every industry, it’s common sense—without a system to detect production errors, any little mistake on the line can become a big problem once the product leaves your facility. Modern manufacturing companies must systemize their quality management to meet critical safety needs, improve regulatory compliance, or reduce lost products.
While the goal is the same across the production industries, the methods vary based on the inspection needs of each specific product. For instance, products with welds may require non-destructive volumetric ultrasonic testing to ensure quality before leaving the production facility. Textiles, plastics, and even poultry may be tested by color using spectrophotometers to ensure each product meets company and industry standards. For manufacturers who rely on threaded fasteners to hold their products together, implementing torque control protocols will substantially improve their QMS.
How Torque Control Can Systemize Your Product’s Quality
Torque control is math. We use math to assign standard, common values to the everyday world we perceive with our senses. This allows us to consider and alter the physical world in the abstract and then implement our plans in reality.
Specifically, torque is a radial force. In manufacturing, the term is used to describe how much force is applied to the head of a screw, nut, or bolt. By measuring the amount of force applied on a standard scale that has been developed using rigorous, repeated observations of the physical world, we can know exactly how much torque to apply for optimal holding strength.
Why is this important? Because fasteners that don’t receive the right amount of torque don’t hold well. If too much is applied, the fastener or the plates it holds together can deform, warp, or fail. The fastener can work free and fall out if too little is applied. When this fastener is in a jet engine, a single failure can cause a critical problem. Even when these fasteners are in products without serious safety concerns, like computers, improper torque application can lead to increased product failure rates, decreased margins, poor customer satisfaction, and the potential for recalls.
So, by knowing the appropriate amount of torque to apply to each fastener in your products, it’s possible to reduce or eliminate the potential of fastener failure. This improves your quality management system by establishing a common standard that each product must meet in order to pass from the factory to delivery. Of course, in addition to knowing the proper torque, you must also be able to apply it.
Applying Torque Control to Improve Quality
Whether you’re tightening the tiniest screws or the largest, heaviest bolts, it’s difficult to know by touch or feel how much torque you’ve produced. The human body doesn’t have a way to do this alone. So, to apply a certain, discrete amount of torque, it’s necessary to use a tool that detects and limits the amount of torque it applies.
Torque tools come in many sizes and styles, and the right one for your operation depends on your fastening needs. Low-volume production settings often rely on hand torque tools such as adjustable screwdrivers or cam-over wrenches. Electric screwdrivers are often the best choice for faster production environments that need small amounts of torque delivered precisely. They are commonly found in electronics manufacturing, and many models prevent electrostatic discharge.
High-volume production environments can further improve their quality management systems with computerized assembly tools such as screw counters, DC control tools, and automated screwdrivers. In addition to adding another layer of control, these systems generate detailed assembly records, improving the oversight abilities of quality control managers.
Hand assembly tools powered by old-fashioned elbow grease are used in large-scale and small-manufacturing environments. Manual torque wrenches and torque screwdrivers are very flexible and can be used for various applications. Their mobility and flexibility allow them to adjust quickly to changing circumstances on the assembly line.
Manufacturing companies can improve their quality management systems by knowing how much torque must be applied to each fastener and investing in the tools needed to deliver that amount of torque accurately. This approach to torque control enables companies to reduce lost products, improve product safety and quality, reduce liability, and ensure regulatory compliance.
Mountz torque tools deliver reliable quality and process control. To see our full range of products, shop our store. Contact us anytime to ask a question. To inquire about price, request a quote. If you’d like to see our equipment in person, schedule an appointment. To get the latest torque-related news, follow us on LinkedIn.
