Development of Digital Hand Tools Industrial Cluster in Taiwan

Preface

In Taiwan, hand tools industry is a typical export-oriented industry, facilitating Taiwan to become a major manufacturing base of worldwide hand tools. In the past twenty years, Taiwan has acclaimed as hand tools export kingdom globally. Hand tool production and manufacturing methods are focused on mechanical technology, while manufacturing mode is conducted by extremely detailed division of labor through upstream, midstream and downstream. Traditional hand tools provide users with a convenient working environment. However, manufacturers do not provide users with the concrete statistics that the users clearly realize whether an applied force is reasonable. As a result, the users either overly apply the force or force is not sufficient to further cause safety concern. In 2003, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) proposed an innovation to digitalize hand tools for the first time and completed the core technologies of digital hand tools. Ever since ITRI implements projects to assist the industries that have developed the diversified digital hand tools, such as digital torque wrench, digital weight pulley, traditional digital torque tool and instrumental type digital torque screwdriver. The development indicates to tremendously improve current situation and combine Taiwan expertise electronics and IC electrical control technologies to transform traditional hand tools into digital intelligent hand tools.

Development History of Taiwan Digital Hand Tools

Technologies of digital hand tools are mainly divided into sensor, electrical control and power supply modules, human machine operational interface and wrench body. When a force is applied to the hand tool, the internal sensor will produce micro deformation and transfer it into electronic signals, then transmit to electrical control module. After the computation and comparison, electronic signals will be on display by numerical values. In 2004, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) completed the first digital hand tool in Taiwan—digital torque wrench. Furthermore, ITRI successfully revised sensing components and sensing mechanisms that have been applied in various hand tools, such as screwdrivers, sleeves, vises, C clips, hand power pullers and scissors.

From 2006, Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs intended to assist Taiwan hand tools manufacturers to conduct the development of digital hand tools and establishment of commercialized technologies, compiled the budget and commissioned ITRI for implementation. Led by Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers' Association, ITRI integrated the related hand tools manufacturers, such as Re-Dai Precision Tools, K & W Tools, Jun Kaung International, Sound Han Industrial, SAVCO Corporation, Proxene Tools, Tong Lee Industrial, INFAR Industrial, William Tools, Quinn Group and Yih Cheng Factory to jointly establish ECLATORQ Technology. ECLATORQ started the mass production of digital hand tools to become the first professional digital hand tool maker in Taiwan. In the meantime, ECLATORQ accepted government's assistance to enter the international market with its own brand “ECLATORQ”, hoping to become a leading global brand of digital hand tools. Except for brand marketing, its digital torque wrench tries to enter the supply chain of large European and American hand tool makers as ODM and OEM. ECLATORQ has successfully turned the digital torque wrench into commercialization. As the digital hand tool industry shows remarkable added values, thus expedites Taiwanese manufacturers, such as Ke Hung Industrial, Stand Tools Enterprise, Kabo Tool, Matatakitoyo Tool, King Tony Tools, and Legend Lifestyle Products to launch the related digital hand tools into market.

The largest difference between a digital hand tool and a traditional hand tool is the display of precise, quantitative numerical values. If there is no public credibility digital hand tool precision certification system, then the digital hand tool cannot demonstrate its value and is hard to expand into the hand tool market. As a result, when Stand Tools Enterprise completes the development of the digital torque wrench, it immediately conducts the establishment of national level torque calibration laboratory. After two years of cooperation with Center for Measurement Standards, ITRI, the torque calibration laboratory of Stand Tools Enterprise acquired the accreditation in July 2010 and further obtained mutual recognition from ILAC-MRA, facilitating the inspection report can be mutually recognized and circulated among main countries. Afterwards, Kabo Tool proactively plans to set up a calibration laboratory. These actions enable product quality of Taiwan digital hand tool march toward a new milestone.
 

Explanations of Taiwanese Digital Hand Tools

In terms of digital hand tools, Taiwanese manufacturers put much efforts on digital torque hand tools for applications of aerospace products, auto & motorcycle, precision machinery and 3C products assembly and maintenance. Due to different requirements from various industries, the digital torque hand tool is usually divided into large torque wrench and small torque screwdriver. In recent years, Taiwanese manufacturers launch a digital torque adapter equipped with a module of design concept. Previous digital torque wrench adopts an integrated design, while the digital torque adapter uses a separate design model.

Framework of digital torque adapter includes sensor, electrical control module, power supply module, human machine operational interface and transfer mechanism. The transfer mechanism connects the sleeve at one end and joints with a traditional torque wrench or screwdriver at another end. By such a connection, the digital torque adapter can achieve the function of digital torque wrench or screwdriver, and meanwhile increases the flexibility of product applications. The digital torque adapter will become a new direction for digital hand tool applications.

New Product of Taiwan Digital Torque Hand Tool－Digital Assisted Power Torque Hand Tool

ITRI newly develops a digital assisted power torque hand tool and there is no other related product in the global market. Compared with the other digital hand tools, the function of digital assisted power torque hand tool can shorten the locking time by 80%, yet it is equipped with the same locking torque precision.

The technical theorem divides the motion of locking screw into lock-in motion and locking motion. Since lock-in motion takes longer time, the power source is adopted to drive and rapidly achieve the purpose of screw lock-in. When the screw is locked in and its bearing surface contacts the locked object working surface, the protective circuit is thus activated. The current of driven motor controls the power supply. When the current of driven motor exceeds a critical current value, the power supply of the motor is cut off. Then the power source is cut off, the first phase to lock screw is completed. The second phase of locking motion carries on. Screw locking is made manually, and the actual locking force is shown on the LCD. The above motions will achieve rapid and accurate screw locking job. Compared with the traditional power hand tool, the digital assisted power torque hand tool is equipped with extremely minimum counter force, no noise interference, low cost, display of bolt torque value, expected torque value of the operator can be achieved and work efficiency is increased. 

Supported by policy of Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, ITRI conducts development and assistance of digital assisted power torque hand tool. At current stage, ITRI has completed the prototype of digital assisted power screwdriver (shown as Chart 1) and assisted William Tools to complete the new product development of the digital assisted power torque wrench and the digital assisted power wrench of wireless data transmission type (shown as Chart 2).

Quality Reliability Test of Digital Torque Hand Tool

Hand tools are often used in factories or outdoor facilities. As such, hand tools must consider the functions of anti-falling, water proof and dust proof. To facilitate products entering the international market, the related safety rules of hand tools are the necessities. Circuit and mechanism design of digital hand tools must conform to CE and UL safety rules and thus meet the requirements of marketing in European and American markets. The related testing items of digital torque hand tools and referred safety specifications are described as the following Table 1.  

Table 1. Electrical Control Testing Standards of Digital Wrench   

Conclusions

Currently functions of digital torque hand tools are almost same. Taking the digital torque wrench as example, the above mentioned Taiwanese manufacturers inject hundreds of millions on R&D. Their products are always equipped with basic functions, such as unit switch, model switch and torque data storage. Additionally, the torque accuracy falls within 3%. Table 2. indicates the specification comparison between Taiwanese manufacturers and American Snap-on, Germany STAHLWILLE, UK TORQUE LEADER, French Facom and Japan TOHNICHI. The comparison shows that Taiwanese digital hand tool specification keeps pace with large foreign makers. Digital hand tool expects to create another growth for Taiwan hand tool industry production value in the future and further assists Taiwan hand tool industry build another peak in the upcoming ten years. 

Table 2. Specification Comparison of Taiwan and Foreign Digital Torque Wrench