Engineering News

Company Announcement - The RS-branded range of insulated tools targets electrical and maintenance engineers and technicians working in demanding environments such as in automotive, aerospace and power generation industries. RS Components, the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc , the global distributor for engineers, has announced the availability of a new range of RS-branded insulated tools for electrical and maintenance engineers that need to work on ‘live line’ electrical circuits.

These RS tools are specifically designed for live line working with high voltages or in extreme temperatures, so are primarily aimed at electrical engineers operating in demanding industries such as in aerospace and power utility companies, and in automotive for hybrid and electric vehicles.

The tools are injection moulded using Nylon 11, which is the preferred material of the professional ‘live line’ worker because of its mechanical strength. The material is harder wearing in the field than standard PVC-coated tools, including at extreme temperatures, and because of its insulation properties is safer and also more cost effective. The range incorporates more than 150 products, including a wide offering of screwdrivers, pliers (including combination, bent nose and snipe nose) and spanners (including open end, ring, adjustable and ratchet). There are also socket sets (plus single sockets), torque wrenches, nut spinners, cable croppers, hacksaws, knives and hex keys.

The product range more than exceeds all the requirements of IEC60900, the international standard for live line tools, including Category C, which is ‘unaffected by extreme temperatures’ from +70°C down to as low as –40°C. Every tool in the range is tested to 10kV while submerged in water for three minutes and comes with a 3-year warranty on the tool and the insulation.