To many manufacturers, the concept of torque is a mystery. Despite the confusion, correct control of this force is critical to quality manufacturing and has a direct impact on bottom-line issues like product quality, reliability and safety. Controlling torque applied by screwdrivers and wrenches is absolutely necessary for maintaining and controlling assembly quality. It is no longer sufficient just to run a fastener until it stops and hope that it is tight enough.
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Measuring clamp force is the actual goal in joint assembly with threaded fasteners. Clamp force is the force holding the materials together. "If we could measure clamp force, we wouldn't need torque," says Greg Katsis, marketing manager for Sturtevant Richmont (Franklin Park, IL).
However, there is no quick and convenient way to measure clamp force in an assembly environment. In the lab, assemblers can measure clamp force by using load cells and load washers. "These go around the bolt, in between the two pieces that are being put together. A wire extends into a display unit. The unit then tells you the force," says Steve Bulleit, director of marketing and training at AIMCO (Portland, OR). "You would use that in the lab when you're trying to figure out what clamp force you're getting. But that is not practical to use on an assembly line. You can't do that on every single fastener. So measuring torque …
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