Does Your Workshop Need Specialised Torque Tools?

Nuts and bolts might be small in size – but that doesn’t make them any less important when it comes to safety.

When you’re dealing with vehicle parts, there’s simply no room for error. One loose screw or an overtightened bolt could pose a huge risk for your customers and their vehicles – and that means you need the right tools in place to be sure of every fitting you complete.

Specialised torque tools aren’t just there to make securing parts easier. They’re highly tuned pieces of equipment, designed to help your technicians apply the right forces up to the right limits – so you can send your vehicles back to your customers with full confidence in their safety.

So what exactly can specialised torque tools do for you? And why should your workshop be committed to using them?

Here are the most important things you need to know:

 

Full control and accuracy

Vehicle manufacturers take great care in laying out the exact specifications for the torque required on every part and fitting. And if you want your workshop to stay compliant, you need to be sure that you’re meeting those specifications.

That’s why it’s so important to use specialised torque tools for every fitting and attachment on your workshop’s vehicles.

All of the Norbar manual torque tools that we supply – such as the ‘P’ Type Ratchet or the Dual Scale Industrial Ratchet – are accurate to ±3% of their calibrated torque settings.

And if you’re using an air-driven torque tool with an electronic shut-off – such as our PneuTorque PTM or PTS series – that range becomes even tighter, with a rated accuracy of ±2%.

So no matter which kind of torque tools you’re using, you can be confident that your workers are hitting the manufacturer’s specifications for every part and bolt they secure.

 

Easy calibration

Vehicles come in all shapes and sizes. And so do their parts and fittings.

That means your staff need to be able to change and adjust their desired torque settings on the fly – for different sizes and weights of vehicle, different parts and connections, and different makes and models.

With the exception of the ‘P’ Type Ratchet, all of the specialised torque tools we supply from Norbar come with their own easy-to-use calibration scales. With a simple twist of the base of the handle, Norbar’s manual torque tools can be set to different levels of desired torque across a broad range of common settings.

(The ‘P’ Type Ratchet is a special case, designed for use in a production environment where they’re set and dedicated to a particular application. Instead of having a built-in, adjustable scale, you can set them against a torque testing device, such as the TruCheck 2 Torque Wrench Checker.)

If you’re using more advanced air-driven torque tools (like the PTM and PTS series), you can set the desired level of torque by adjusting the air pressure – with a handy graph of air pressure vs. torque that comes supplied with each tool.

 

Protection from over-torque

We all know what could happen with an unsecured wheel (or with any vehicle parts where the screws and nuts aren’t tight enough).

But there’s another danger when it comes to torque – and that’s overtightening.

Without the right measures in place, an overtightened fitting could cause excessive compression, bending, or other types of damage to the vehicle parts and their connections. And at some point, this excessive torque could cause the bolt shank to break.

With some tools (like the Norbar PneuTorque PTM, or the bi-directional PneuTorque PTS), you can stop at the right levels of torque automatically. Once you’ve calibrated the tool for the job at hand, these air-driven, handheld tools can shut off automatically when you reach the correct torque – reducing the risk of human error, and ensuring that every nut, bolt, or screw gets the exact torque it needs for a safe attachment.

Similarly, the manual torque tools we supply (such as the Dual Scale Industrial Ratchet, or the Industrial Ratchet ‘Mushroom’ Head) come with their own audible and tactile cut-off points. After setting the right torque values on the built-in scale, the ratchet will click and flex when you reach the desired limit – giving your workers a clear signal that they’ve hit the right level of torque for that part.

 

Options for tight spaces

We know that space is at a premium in almost every vehicle workshop. And when you’re using manual torque tools, you often need a lot of space for leverage and rotation.

Some workshops will be able to focus on our air-powered torque tools, with a smaller handheld size that can rotate and apply torque without any need for long leverage.

But when that’s not an option, you’ll need a tool that can help you make the most of the space you have for manual torque tools.

With our new HT3 Torque Multiplier from Norbar, you can apply the same high torques you need for a secure fitting – but without the larger motions or manual strength you’d normally need.

By attaching a ratchet torque wrench set at one fifth of the desired torque, the HT3 Torque Multiplier can help to deliver the same safe torque you’re aiming for, over much smaller spaces and shorter rotational length.

 

Need help finding the right torque tools for you?

Fitting parts might be an everyday job. But the stakes are high – and getting the right tools for the job is essential for the safety and compliance of your workshop.

We’ve just launched a comprehensive range of torque tools tailored to the needs of a typical commercial vehicle workshop, from manual ratchets with simple calibration to air-powered hand units with automatic shut-off.

So if you’re looking for a safe and accurate set of tools to keep your workshop compliant and your staff and customers safe, take a look through our specialised torque equipment from Norbar – or get in touch with a member of our friendly team to find out more.