TORQUE REACTION IN ANGLED NUTRUNNERS

In the process of tightening a joint, the angled nutrunner acts on the operator with a torque reaction in the final stages of the tightening sequence. In the following series of experiments, the torque reaction of a machine acting on various joints is studied. A distinctive featu re of the torque reaction is that the handle of the angled nutrunner c auses a rapid displacement. The amplitude and time aspect of this disp lacement depend on the stiffness of the joint (whether it is hard or s oft), and the movement of the handle depends on how the operator is ho lding it. How the operator responds to the torque reaction depends upo n, among other things, the displacement amplitude as well as the torqu e level of the machine. Because of this, the displacement amplitude ca n be used as a measure of the operator's discomfort.