It’s no secret that pneumatic Impact Wrenches dominate pro assembly shops. Their ultra-high torque and speed drills through repetitive fastening tasks. However, many operators wrongly assume impacts maintain consistent performance indefinitely after purchase. In reality, factors like wear and tear change an impact’s torque output over time. This variability threatens any assembly where specifications must be met.
This article dives into why proper calibration directly correlates with impact wrench accuracy. We’ll cover what happens when tools drift out of spec, calibration best practices, and how shops can tap into Flexible Assembly’s expertise around precision torque assurance.
The Risks of Impacts Drifting Out of Calibration
First, understand that air impact specs like torque range, RPMs, blows per minute and more are determined fresh off the factory line. However, years spent hammering away combined with contamination, drops, user abuse etc. degrades components.
For example, the hammer/anvil striking mechanism at the heart of an impact suffers metal fatigue over thousands of hits. Spinning parts like the rotor and vanes also slowly erode from friction and debris ingestion. Even factors like air leaks and lubrication breaks reduce output.
The problem lies in assuming your impact maintains its original torque figures forever. Much like vehicle headlights falling out of aim, what was once aligned to specifications eventually drifts. Your impact may for example still rate 700 ft-lbs of breakaway torque when it actually produces just 600 or 500 now.
Without validation, mechanics wrist-setting tightening times are just guesswork. Hardware thought tightened to spec may in fact be significantly looser or over-torqued. This variability puts any precision assembly at risk – which is why regular calibration matters.
Every Shop Needs an Impact Calibration Program
To stay ahead of drift while documenting due diligence, industrial teams should adopt calibration as part of impact wrench management. Think of this as routinely bumping tools back into their intended performance range. You wouldn’t go to the track with untuned racecars – so why gamble your assembly quality on uncertain tools either?
Here are impact wrench calibration best practices:
- Establish an initial baseline reading when new impacts enter service so future change can be measured
- Set calibration check intervals based on usage level — heavy use means checking more often
- Keep calibration records for each impact showing historical readings
- Identify any impacts reading outside OEM torque specifications by +/- margin and remove from service for correction
- Consider instrumenting impacts with data logging sensors for torque analytics
By adding this process, managers gain confidence that torque delivery stays true. Any outlier tools get re-tuned to like-new specs. This prevents faulty tightening and protects assembly quality down the line. Don’t wait for a critical joint failure to reveal issues. Instead adopt progressive air tool calibration.
Partnering for Precision Success
This article focused on why staying ahead of impact wrench drift matters for torque critical assembly. But manually tracking tools and calibrating in house presents challenges to most shops. That’s why teaming up with calibration experts pays dividends through convenience and unbeatable accuracy.
Flexible Assembly already helps leading manufacturers worldwide implement advanced fastening technology for precision torque assurance. Our capabilities around impact wrench management include:
- Calibrating air tools onsite to brand specified figures
- Providing loaner impacts while yours get certified
- Documenting tool data so your records stay up to date
- Helping establish or improve calibration processes
- Advising on instrumented smart tool options
In short, we become your one-stop-shop for reliably keeping air impacts performing like new for the long run. Contact Flexible Assembly today to discuss bringing scientific precision to your tightening processes. Our Torque Testers and impact calibration services prevent overtorquing, undertorquing and variability that threatens assembly quality.
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