B-Series Cordless Line Adds Right-Angle and Inline Torque Tools
High-tech tools for high-performance vehicles.
Many of today’s high-performing vehicles are a challenge at the point of assembly: their aerodynamic designs result in incredibly tight spaces for interior installations, and, as the product of precision machining, the systems that make up these vehicles require equally precise torque for installation. Add to these circumstances a crowded and busy work floor, and it’s apparent why such challenges – a particular point of pain among the European automakers renowned for their sleek and speedy vehicles – would demand specialized tools.
Our response? Two new additions to the lightest-weight cordless torque tool line in its class, the STANLEY® Assembly Technologies B-Series line. Introduced in September 2017, the B12LA Right-Angle Torque Tool and the B12LB Inline Torque Tool expanded the B-Series’ ability to check all the boxes for automakers and many other STANLEY® customers. The tools are cordless, permitting work within the tightest of spaces, and eliminating the safety hazard that cords pose on the work floor; their lightweight design also aids in technical, close-quarter maneuvering, while also permitting extended use with reduced operator fatigue; they offer an autonomous operation mode with programming via a Micro-USB port, adding speed, accuracy, and traceability to the workflow; and all models feature closed-loop transducer control and a brushless, electric DC motor for high performance and reliability.
The cordless tools offer a lighter weight solution compared to corded tools, because you do not have the added weight of the cable.—Deanna Postlethwaite, Director, Global Product Management, Assembly Technologies
Overall, the STANLEY® B-Series cordless tools are ideal for hard-to-reach, enclosed, overhead applications; interior assembly and installations; electronic assembly benches; and repair and rework stations. All tools in the B-Series are equipped with a STANLEY® 4 Amp hour 20Volt (18Volt outside North America) Max Lithium Ion Battery Pack and provide optional battery packs in 2 and 6 Amp hour sizes to optimize power and weight requirements based on the user’s application.
The new B12LA Right-Angle Torque Tool is ideal for angled joints and operates in the 400 to 840 RPM range with up to 8, 11, or 16 Nm of torque. It has a 3/8“square drive (SD) standard output with optional ¼” SD, ¼” quick change (QC) chuck, or flush angle, depending on the model. The tool weighs 2.3 pounds (1.043 kilograms) without a battery pack.
Designed for narrow spaces or inline applications, the new B12LB Inline Torque Tool, the only straight torque tool in this class, operates in the 600 to 1265 RPM range with up to 5, 8, or 11 Nm of torque and is delivered with a ¼” quick change (QC) output. The B12LB weighs 1.8 pounds (0.81 kilograms) without a battery pack.
“Cordless tools are frequently the best solution in places where there is a tight fit or where dragging a cable could potentially damage the surfaces – areas where customer is required to prevent mars – in the assembly of vehicles, the underneath of a dashboard, or in a tight space inside a vehicle, like a knee bolster or in assembly of a cab of a vehicle,” Deanna Postlethwaite, Director, Global Product Management, STANLEY® Assembly Technologies, says. “While a cable can make a tight space more difficult, a cordless tool offers the operator the opportunity to work more closely within such an area and have more flexibility to properly fasten. The cordless tools also offer a lighter-weight solution compared to corded tools, because you do not have the added weight of the cable.”
Pistol and larger right-angle torque tools are also available in the STANLEY® Cordless B-Series family. The pistol style features push-to-start inline outputs, while the lever style offers angle, hold and drive, Crowfoot, or tubenut outputs.
These and all STANLEY® B-Series Cordless Torque Tools feature an autonomous operation mode with programming via a Micro-USB port. An internal 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4/5 GHz wireless controller within the tool manages 16 jobs, 16 tasks, and four steps. The tool can store up to 500 fastening cycles and one trace. This allows operators to access trackable information to ensure they are putting the right torque on the fastener.
With the addition of the B12 cordless nutrunners, we have expanded and enhanced our cordless tool offerings to deliver a variety of sizes and torques.—Deanna Postlethwaite
“Data collection and storage are a key benefit of the STANLEY® Assembly Technologies solutions,” Postlethwaite continues. “The cordless tools extend from our flagship product, our corded tools, the EB Tools product line, and offer the end customer the opportunity gather data about the product and tightening strategy used. These essential datasets permit analysis of any issues and allow for comprehensive record keeping – plus, the programmable capabilities allow for a measure of error proofing.”
“With the addition of the B12 cordless nutrunners, we have expanded and enhanced our cordless tool offerings to deliver a variety of sizes and torques,” she adds. “STANLEY® Engineered Fastening is one of the only vendors to offer a full range of tool configurations, including flush angle head, crowfoot, tubenut and hold and drive options for our cordless tool product line – and we will be expanding further in 2018 to introduce safety advancements as well as speed and higher-torque models, driven by our customers’ needs and requirements.”