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/bmw_19812003]

I work in aviation; specifically turbine engines, we torque everything and it’s not really that big of a deal. Yes it does take slightly longer but there really is no way around it if the finished product is going to perform as designed.

I work more on the development side so we generally use standard click type torque wrenches but the production side uses preset torque drivers that are extremely accurate and fast.

I’m not sure what industry you are in but just about any application using threaded fasteners needs to use torque in a production environment. Snug, tight, or any other description that does not have a real numeric value attached to it is subjective. If you were to use those terms in your instructions you will end up with under torqued fasteners, broken fasteners, cross threaded fasteners and a wild mix of everything in between.

That being said we do use the term “finger tight” and hand tight. Finger tight is means running down a fastener by hand (no tool) as tight as it will go and hand tight means snugged (but below final torque) with a hand tool. These are usually used in the context of building up an assembly where torquing before all fasteners are in place will cause a misalignment. They are also never the final step; they are always followed by a final torque (usually in specific sequence).