Smart Screwdriving? The Solution Is Electric
On the threshold of the 70th anniversary, Fiam makes its debut in the market of the electric screwdrivers. The company’s eTensil range aims to be the Made in Italy response to Industry 4.0 demand for green, reliable, versatile and intelligent tools, programmed to be integrated in a smart production organization: from precision mechanics to automotive, from electronics to household appliances assembly.
by Sergio Soriano
Design, power, precision in construction and excellence in manufacturing are the cornerstones that make eTensil a proudly Italian solution. The screwdrivers are equipped with an exclusive brushless motor with reduced need for maintenance, designed to remove wearing components, friction and to low motor inertia, which ensures the screwdriver an endless electric lifespan. Maximum tightening torque control and high functional efficiency reduction assembly complete the profile of a screwdriver that in terms of precision and reliability has few terms of comparison. A greater ergonomic comfort has been reached thanks to the design that increases functionality and the easiness to handle the tools. The structure of the soft-grip handle is designed to provide a safe grip in every operation. The low grip, close to the tightening area, makes the centring easy and fast. The casing designed by Fiam’s design center has been made using the latest technology in ESD reinforced plastics that excel in lightness and impact resistance. These also have a dissipative capacity that is immune to electromagnetic disturbances. As a consequence, the eTensil range is ESD certified, a characteristic that makes these tools absolutely suitable when assembling high-quality electrical components.
Electronics on board
The eTensil tools have been developed to ensure a total and constant control in each tightening stage. Thanks to an exclusive system of LEDs linked to the internal control devices, the operators can always monitor the status and the settings of their tools. A micro console incorporated in the tool allows them to activate the different types of start, the stop, and the reversibility in a faster and smarter way.
Few simple steps are sufficient for programming the most suitable start up mode for each operation directly on the tool, without changing the mechanical set-up and bringing production speed benefits. The exclusive Smart Pro programming provides seven different start-up modalities, but the electronics on board is already prepared for a wider range of customizations.
What makes eTensil an advanced tightening system is also the combined power supply unit that provides the electrical power levels appropriate for the tool, allows the user to quickly set the rotation speed and its high visibility LEDs show immediately the status of the key procedures, ensuring the constant monitoring of both the tool’s conditions and the working cycle.
A production approach close to the territory
Through this forward-looking operation, long wanted by the company, Fiam consolidates also a production approach that is quite close to the territory. “After having conquered in an international framework a highly recognized specialization for pneumatic tightening solutions and for automatic tightening solutions compliant with Industry 4.0 – claims Mr Luigi Bacchetta, Managing Director at Fiam – in 2018 we have decided to take this important step by expanding our production with a range of electrical screwdrivers designed and produced to revolutionize the performance and safety parameters so far known in the market. For us it has been an important choice, mostly because we have strongly desired to develop the production in Italy, unlike the trend of many competitors to choose the outsourcing way. Fiam’s Made in Italy approach is strongly connected to the Vicenza area”.