Industrial bolting systems manufacturer Hytorc announced in February that it had successfully supplied torqueing solutions to meet the challenges faced by engineered sealing solutions provider John Crane at its Bengaluru operation, in India’s Karnataka province.

“Prior to using Hytorc technology, the John Crane manufacturing department relied on the traditional method of tightening guard ring coupling bolts with impact wrenches and manual torque wrenches. “[However], these manual methods can have many complications and risks,” warns Hytorc president Eric Junkers.

During operation, the impact wrench created a significant amount of noise and vibration in the plant’s working environment. This necessitated earplugs, not only for the direct handler of the wrench, but also for any workers who were in the vicinity.

But noise pollution was not the only disadvantage of using manual methods – productivity also suffered, as pre- and final torqueing took three to four minutes for each bolt when using manual techniques.

Manual processes also exhausted workers, who required the assistance of at least three other employees to complete a single bolting job.

John Crane also highlighted quality and safety as a cause for concern when bolting with impact wrenches and manual torque wrenches. The company’s quality department often received complaints from clients about the bolt load achieved on delivered products when using manual techniques.

Further, John Crane’s environment, health and safety (EHS) department pressured the production line to improve safety practices, as manual tools often resulted in employee injuries, including hand and muscle strains.

“John Crane was aware of the [issues that arose from] its current bolting methods and, when the team added a new member as head of manufacturing, that head was able to offer guidance, which led to the implementation of Hytorc tools and processes,” notes Hytorc COO Jason Junkers.

Following an assessment of John Crane’s needs and its manufacturing methods, Hytorc provided the company with its dual-speed J-Gun A1-AP torque gun, which has the ability to cover the torque required for all the necessary applications, with the added benefits of improved safety and speed. This bolting system is known for its fast rundown and accurate final torqueing, as the torque gun includes dual speeds to eliminate the need for impact guns used for pretorqueing.

The J-Gun also eliminated excessive vibrations during tool use, as well as the need for up to three employees to complete a torqueing task.

“With the use of Hytorc-brand tooling, only one employee was needed for the pre- and final-torqueing of the bolts. This led to ncreased efficiency in assembly time of more than 50%,” Eric Junkers points out.

Hytorc also provided John Crane with its Hytorc silencer kit, which significantly decreased the tool noise level to the EHS department-approved level of between 75 dB and 80 dB.