Armstrong Industrial Safety General Trading Co. Nigeria Limited is a reliable power tools distribution company with offices in Port Harcourt and Lagos, all in Nigeria. We possess vast knowledge and years of experience in delivering, purchasing, and supplying civil engineering services and manpower supplies, which makes us different from our competitors.
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OPERATIONAL & SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS FOR WIRE BRUSHES
Impact wrenches are socket wrench power tools found in mechanics tool boxes anywhere. Predominantly as tools for disassembling bolts mechanically, they are specifically designed for tightening and loosening various hex head bolts, nuts, and lags screws from cars and trucks and sometimes used in high torque situations.
Not to be mistaken for an impact driver with ¼ inch hex opening and cordless drills/drivers which are basically good at driving screws and drilling holes, a standard automotive impact wrench has capacity for ½ inch sockets of different sizes as well as those that can fit a wheel lug. It exerts both impact force which is a short burst concussive blow and torque which is a rotational force in order to give out an exceptional load of power. Cordless impact wrenches can effortlessly employ torque outputs of over 250 foot-pounds, this can power-drive the fattest loose rusty and corroded nuts, compared to the average impact driver that gives out about 125 foot pounds of torque and some cordless drivers/drills which produces only 50 foot pounds of torque.
TYPES OF IMPACT WRENCH
Based on the type of power it uses to produce its torque, Impact wrenches are basically divided into two main categories, These are;
Air (Pneumatic) powered wrenches and
Electric powered wrenches. The electrical powered impact wrenches is further divided into Corded and Cordless impact wrenches
The air powered impact wrenches also known as pneumatic impact wrenches were actually the first to be designed, they are the best choice in professional shops because they produce the most torque than others. They are typically powered by compressed air with the use of an air compressor which supplies the compressed air that then produces the power.
They come in different drive sizes which primarily describes the amount of force the tool can exert. The various drive sizes includes; 0.25 inch, 0.375 inch, 0.50 inch, 0.75 inch and 1 inch. However, The higher the drive size of an impact wrench, the higher the amount of torque it produces, ½ inch impacts produce north of 1,100 foot-pounds of torque and a 1 inch drive size can produce torque of 3000 feet/lbs. Pneumatic impact wrenches can be used constantly, and also in situations with no power supply, all that is required is compressed air, which is quite easy to find. They are perfect to use in restricted and tight areas, this is because they are actually smaller than other types of impact wrenches, these are some of the advantages it has over other wrenches.
The disadvantage it poses is difficulty in adjusting the power because they lack the mechanism for power adjustment. In situations where there is power needed, it causes difficulty in usage. If a small amount of torque is required, it can give out too much power which can shatter, break and destroy bolts but to make use of that full air powered force, a big compressor of about 5 to 7.5HP will be needed to run it. Air impact wrench are very persistent because they do not slow down when the battery runs out of juice.
Electric Impact Wrench
Corded electric impact wrench, uses direct electric power, in which one just has to plug it in and turn on the socket and extension and it's ready for use. This type of impact wrench does not have the bolts and nuts breaking torque as seen in an air impact wrench, this can be one amongst the rest that will allow you to fly through those difficult jobs that proves challenging.
Cordless impact wrenches also known as battery powered impact are commonly seen because they are quite portable and easily carried around. They are particularly popular with racers because most race car trailers aren’t designed to carry a two staged high horse-power compressor. The generators are basically used to monitor the battery chargers for the electric tools. The battery is what powers any cordless tool, so therefore, choosing the right battery technology that the tool needs is very necessary as the torque output of the tool is quite important.
Note: The capacity of a battery used in a power tool depends on the amount of amperage hours (Ah) it can deliver and rechargeable batteries when kept and not used for a long time can slowly lose their charge, but some batteries lose theirs faster than others.
HOW IT WORKS
A normal lug wrench is able to remove an automotive tyre, but when talking about speed, convenience, less stress an impact wrench is advisable. Impact wrenches immense torque is gotten from a hammering mechanism in the tool which produces strong concussive blows very quickly. When loosening a lug nut the socket attached to the impact wrench moves slowly as the lug nut is loosened and then quickly when it is loose. It is easy to over torque an impact wrench when tightening lug nuts which can stretch or even strip the thread, so one has to be very careful.
A successive series of hammer blows is given off by the impact wrench to an “impact-rated” hex socket and through that passes to a bolt or nut head, which takes advantage of steel’s ability to withstand shock loads. If the tool can’t be controlled, all the strength given won't be quite useful. However, the concussive blows transfers most of the high energy torque directly to the fastener and not to the arm, hand or wrist, which eliminates the twisting movement called reactionary torque that is always experienced when using a normal electric drill.
Impact wrench are used to produce bolted joints in structural steel erection and also used in industry that carries out heavy construction, they are mostly seen in auto shops and mechanical areas where they can be used to remove bolts and nuts.
Curated & Edited Lawrence Momah Business Dev. Consultant Semec Agencies Nigeria Limited