Expert Live Q&A: Tightening Services

Date: Friday, August 21st, 2020: 10:00 - 10:30 AM EST

Welcome to the Tightening Services question and answer session. Taking your questions in this Q&A is Jason Benford, Atlas Copco’s Tightening Services Lab Manager. During this question and answer session, we’re diving into the tightening services offered by Atlas Copco. Our tightening service program is a group of engineers dedicated to solving tightening issues within customer manufacturing facilities. Jason explains some common bolting issues his customers encounter, such as problems with friction, but also describes the value of his team analyzing customer bolts in the lab to prevent late-stage problems that may end up expensive. 

The Q&A then goes more in-depth on the value of this service offered by Atlas Copco. Jason explains, when asked why tightening services should be utilized by a customer, that he sees customers who have late-stage bolting issues they need to address and customers that want to be proactive in combating assembly line issues. Tightening services with Atlas Copco is all-encompassing, Jason and his team deal with a wide range of tightening problems. The tightening service lab can get involved in all production phases, from preventative action in the design phase to reactive service in full-mass production.

In the final part of the Q&A, Jason discusses the potential problems that customers might encounter if bolting mishaps go unnoticed. Failures are perhaps the biggest, and Jason describes the catastrophic effects of an aircraft bolt failing in use. The Q&A wraps up with Jason demonstrating the size range of bolts or screws that can be analyzed in the Atlas Copco tightening service lab. In general, Jason says that he can analyze and work with bolts that are ~.05 Nm to ~4,000Nm.