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How to Test Click Wrenches

To test click wrenches you must have a torque tester that has two very important capabilities. First, the tester must sample torque at a rate fast enough to capture the "click" of a torque wrench.  Second, you must have a tester that has a special mode called "First Peak Mode".  This mode is specifically designed to distinguish between when the micrometer wrench under test "clicks" (calibration test point) and when the operator stops pushing on the wrench. These two points can be very different.

The TS-1000 was designed specifically for this task. With a sampling rate of 8000 samples per second and a reliable first peak mode you can easily test all types of click wrenches.

Accuracy is also an important issue.  When used with bench mount transducers you will have a test system that is better than .5% accurate over the test range.  This is twice as accurate as what is needed to meet ANSI specifications for testing clicker type wrenches.

HOW TO USE THE TS-1000 FOR TESTING OF CLICK WRENCHES:

1. Plug in the proper torque transducer.  For example, if you are calibrating a 150 ft.-lb. wrench use a 25-250 ft.-lb. transducer.

2. Turn the meter on.  It will automatically sense what transducer is attached and go straight into the operation mode, no need to press any buttons or reprogram the operation mode after powering up.

3. Press the mode button until "FPeak" is shown on the custom, high contrast LCD.

4. Attach the wrench to the female square drive on the transducer, in the horizontal position, and apply force to the wrench handle until the wrench clicks. Apply force smoothly and evenly, pressing on the center of the torque wrench handle.

5. As you press on the wrench the TS-1000 will digitally display the torque as it increases with large, easy to read digits and capture and hold at the click point when the wrench clicked, disregarding additional torque applied after the click point.  Note the reading and determine if the wrench is within calibration specifications (+/-4% plus the tester accuracy for click wrenches).

6.  You can also let the TS-1000 prompt you if the wrench is within calibration by quickly entering the expected target torque prior to the test.  The meter will give you a yellow, green or red light depending on whether the wrench clicked under, within or over the "pass" range of the torque setting (the pass or fail percentage can be set from 1 to 10% or you can actually enter the high and low values yourself).

7. You can  send this information to a printer or computer using the standard RS232 port (cable supplied standard).  See Tech note for instructions on how to set your computer to accept torque data.

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