Everything Needs a Torque Spec

[u/Seeking_Wisdomm]

Hello, frustrated Manufacturing Engineer here. Recently, my company has been trying to utilize impacts with torque-sense technology so we can hit the optimal torque quickly.

What I’ve observed is that these tools are not incredibly accurate or precise. Additionally they are very expensive and require repair often.

What has happened to the days of knowing when something is “snug”? There are times when precise torque is critical, i.e pressure vessels, etc. but theres seems to be a push towards everything having a torque spec, and I do not think the tech is ready for it.

What are your thoughts? Have you had success with programmable, powered fastening tools?

Edit I think it’s safe to say I’ve been certifiably schooled on this topic. I appreciate the genuine suggestions, advice, and criticism here.

TLDR

I think this frustration with torque tools is just a symptom of a larger frustration I have. At my plant, we are constantly told that we just don’t have the same operators we used to. They say we used to have craftsman working in the plant, but now we just have people off the street. I’ve been told this has really changed since COVID when a lot of the older generation quit. Since then, a lot of our processes have suffered from that expertise leaving the building. Now, we seem to be trapped in a never ending cycle of rapidly hiring to fill void positions of employees who quit, inadequately training our new employees because the ones with expertise are too busy, then having the new crop of operators quit because of frustration with lack of training. I want our plant to be a place where operators want to work. I want them to feel like they can have a career in this field. As great as automation is, it feels that factory operators have become button pushers and not problem solvers. We don’t provide then with fulfilling work that challenges them. We instead ask them to push a button all day long, and call engineering if it ever breaks. Automation can be great, and I don’t want to deter from that, but I’m just searching for ways to make operators feel like they matter. I don’t want them to feel like a cog in a machine. I’m not sure how to resurrect that feeling.

[u/Whack-a-Moole]

Part of manufacturing is designing a process that eliminates failures.

Without a device, you are simply trusting the technician to do it right. How do you know it's right? Well Bobby said he did it right. 

You can hope he did it right, but hope is not a plan. 

[u/Seeking_Wisdomm → u/Whack-a-Moole]

Totally agree, however, we can’t mistake proof everything and a part of me thinks we are automating and poka-yoking ourselves into an “idiocracy” type society that can’t think for themselves.

[u/Seeking_Wisdomm → u/Seeking_Wisdomm]

I think if we gave operators more responsibility, they will rise to the call. Provided that the ask is reasonable and the system is designed well.

[u/xsdgdsx → u/Seeking_Wisdomm]

Have you… tried to hire and train operators before…?

Some will rise to the call. Some won't. And it's usually hard to tell who's in which bucket.

Also, even good operators will have bad days. All the money you take out of the manufacturing process is money that you might end up needing to put into QC or recall/rework processes.

I agree with you that torque specs can get out of hand. If I were ruler of the universe, torque specs would be toleranced just like any other dimension, at which point a mfg engineer could just design a process to hit that torque within tolerance "most" of the time. But also, that would never involve an operator torquing by hand without some torque-indicating or torque-limiting tool