Smart tools are manufacturing assembly software used to add automation to manual assembly processes. These are good value investment for improving manufacturing processes. Source: https://www.metisautomation.co.uk/smart-tools/

1. Communicating with Smart
Tools
Posted by Martin on September 26, 2017 // 2 Comments
Smart tools can be used in advanced
manufacturing processes to put
automation directly into the hands of
operators. They eliminate manufacturing
mistakes, speed up production time and
automate data collection and
manufacturing traceability.
They are a low-cost investment that can
transform manufacturing processes and
save costly rework or product recalls.
In this blog post, I will outline their basic
operation and the strategies for using
them in assembly and manufacturing
operations.
What is a Smart Tool?
Smart tools perform the same functions
as regular manufacturing tools. However,
they also have; sensors, electronics, a
processor and a communications module.
This enables them to be programmed with
operation parameters. These can be

2. selected automatically during production
and will output results of the
manufacturing process.
A good example is an electric nut-runner,
which is basically a smart torque wrench.
It can be programmed to tighten to
various torques and number of turns.
Tightening programs can be selected
directly from the tool or remotely through
the software. When the tool completes, it
will output a Pass/Fail result, the torque
achieved, and the tool used.
Benefits of Smart Tools
The two main benefits of establishing
connectivity with smart tools are:
Firstly, to control their operation in a
manufacturing process;
Secondly, to retrieve data from them
when operations are completed.
As part of an assembly process with a
smart torque wrench, various nuts may
need to be tightened to different torques
on a component. Our software Tascus
can be used to control the manufacturing
sequence. It can also be used with
location sensors to detect where the tool
is. This will send the correct torque set-
point to the tool, at the correct point in the
manufacturing process.
Retrieving data from smart tools can be
used for verification and traceability of the
manufacturing process. If issues are
found with a product – for example, a nut
loosening – manufacturing data can be
mined to see what torque it was tightened
to. This may lead to a revision of the
manufacturing process, to solve these
issues.
H t C t t S t T l

3. Leave a Comment
Reply
2 Comments
Ajay // November 1, 2017 at 1:28 pm
Does this Tascus connects to
any cloud platform like PTC
Thingworx or AWS or Azure to collect the
data in cloud?
Martin // November
2, 2017 at 1:12 pm
Hi Ajay,
How to Connect to Smart Tools
Finally, smart tools often have several
options for communicating with other
devices. Ethernet, Modbus and Profinet
are common examples. These can be
used to send commands to the tool and to
store process information. Our
Manufacturing Execution System Tascus
makes it easy to connect to smart tools
using all of these protocols and will also
control and log data from smart tools.
Summary
Smart tools are a great way to implement
automation into manual assembly
processes. Due to their network
connectivity, they are a good way to lead
into Connected Manufacturing and
Industry 4.0 processes.
View Key Features and
Results of Connected
Manufacturing

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Reply
j y,
Tascus connects to AWS &
Azure for cloud data collection
and analysis.
Thanks,
Martin
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