Digital Tools to Drive Growth of Taiwan's Hand Tool Industry

With a far higher degree of precision of torque application than traditional mechanical models, digital tools such as torque wrenches and screwdrivers have become an increasingly important category in the hand tool industry. They generate better margins, but at the same time require more advanced production technologies that use electromechanical integration to ensure quality and reliability.

Their advantages mean that digital tools can be an answer for Taiwanese hand tool makers that face an increasingly challenging global market for DIY (do it yourself) tools, in which a bumper crop of competitors from China has eroded their sales by dumping low-end but very cheap tools. China is now the largest exporter of hand tools in the world, with Germany and Taiwan ranking No.2 and No.3, respectively.

To help local manufacturers fend off the cutthroat competition by moving upmarket, the Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs has proposed a three-year plan aimed at boosting the growth and development of traditional Taiwanese industries and has commissioned the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), a government-backed, non-profit R&D organization specializing in development of information and electronic technologies, to study the upgrading of digital tools since 2007.

The plan is managed by Chen Chang-hsiung, product manager of the Intelligent Machinery Technology Division of ITRI's Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories. After three years of dedication to the development of high-end digital tools with higher value-added, Chen and one of his teammates, Cho Chih-hua, a senior researcher at ITRI who specializes in electromechanical integration technology, were interviewed about how the digital tool industry is developing. .

Origin of Taiwan's Digital Tool Sector

Showing off Taiwan's first prototype of a digital torque wrench, Chen indicated that ITRI is only the birthplace of the digital tool sector on the island. "The emergence of this sector," he said, "is a consequence of Taiwan's mature development of hand tool as well as the electronic manufacturing and IC (integrated circuit) design industries."

Inspired by the widespread use of semiconductors in electronic devices, ITRI applied MEMS (micro electro mechanical system) chips to the development of Taiwan's first digital torque wrench in 2004. That product prototype was simply a traditional mechanical model with a fine-tuned exterior design and a MEMS chip-integrated torque measuring module installed in it.

Fabricated with nanometer manufacturing processes, MEMS integrates mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a single silicon substrate. It can collect information from the environment by measuring mechanical, thermal, biological, chemical, optical and magnetic phenomena precisely and accurately, and assures the more precise detection of torque force as it is entirely impervious to environmental variations.

Chen noted that due to the prohibitive cost of MEMS chips, however, ITRI's engineers gave up these advanced microelectronic components and turned to a more economical alternative instead: the strain gauge. The first digital torque wrench that ITRI developed proved to be unmarketable, but it gave a more distinct indication of which way the effort should proceed.

Later on ITRI succeeded in applying strain gauges to digital torque wrenches and in improving production methodologies with help from the MIRDC (Metal Industries Research & Development Centre). Several marketable models were developed, and 11 local companies were invited to set up Taiwan's first specialized maker of digital torque wrenches, the Eclatorq Technology Co., in 2006.

The 11 Eclatorq Technology companies--Re-Dai Precision, Sound Han, K&W Tools, J&K International, Proxene Tools, Savco, Tong Lee, Infar Industrial, Yih Cheng, William Tools, and Quinn-still receive technical support from ITRI. "Since ITRI introduced its digital torque wrenches," Chen said, "other innovatively strong hand tool makers, such as Stand Tools, Ke Hung, Matatakitoyo, and Kabo Tool, have moved to develop their own models. This is how a digital tool sector formed in Taiwan."

Built-in Bluetooth

To enhance the functionality and added value of digital tools, Chen's team has further drawn on ITRI's cutting-edge IT know-how to develop digital modules that provide wireless data transmission using Bluetooth technology. Modules with built-in Bluetooth have already been completed.

Chen's team-mate, Cho Chih-hua, who was in charge of developing the Bluetooth module, said that the use of Bluetooth is the key to further enhancement of the reliability of digital tools because it allows remote control of the torque force applied through each digital torque wrench that is properly equipped. This means that any improperly torqued fasteners will be immediately detected and the information stored in computers.

Real-world experience shows, Cho added, that improperly torqued fasteners can undermine the structural strength of a product and sometimes result in devastating accidents such as airplane crashes. "This is what inspired us to apply Bluetooth in digital tools," Cho commented. "Deviations of standard torque force caused by either physical or operational errors can be reduced more effectively via all-day remote control when Bluetooth digital modules are linked to computers. We expect that these modules will boost Taiwan's profile as a digital tool expert, since, after all, the quality of such tools hinges on the precision of their torque."

In addition to improving the functionality of digital tools, digital modules can boost the feasibility of mass-producing the tools and help assure stable quality. "The modules are designed to meet most digital tool specifications," Chen noted. "In other words, manufacturers have no need to redesign and change the specifications of their existing models, and they can easily achieve modular production so as to boost their capacity and maintain stable quality."

With help from ITRI, Ki Hung has applied MEMS modules to its torque tools, all of which have been certificated by the company's European and American clients and will be officially launched next year. ITRI's successful experience in developing digital torque tools is expected to be duplicated in the digitizing of other categories of tools. Cho reports that other kinds of digital tools will probably be introduced in the next one or two years.

Digital Tools to Boost Overall Production Value

After dedicating so many years of his life to the development of digital tools, Chen is supremely optimistic about their future. "With production technology becoming mature," he comments, "selling prices have gradually come down from as much as NT$60,000 (US$1,146.15 at NT$32.5:US$1) per unit when they were first introduced to about NT$15,000 (US$461.58) now. Increasingly friendly prices will help to boost the popularity of these products in both the professional and DIY markets."

Chen believes that the production of digital tools is very likely to shoot up starting next year, due partly to the recovery in global demand and partly to Taiwan's time-tested reputation as a manufacturer of high-end hand tools with fine quality and economical prices.

Noting that General Motors approached Eclatorq about the sourcing of digital torque wrenches for its trucks two years ago, Chen said that although the negotiations ultimately failed because of pricing differences, they show that the quality of Taiwan-made digital tools has been recognized internationally.

Digital hand tools are expected to become a major force for growth in Taiwan's tool industry. In view of the fact that prices of digital torque tools are about five times those of traditional mechanical models, Chen pointed out, digital torque tools are expected to replace only 5% of total exports of traditional models next year but to generate an export value 10 times more than those they replace. "A clustering effect for the development of the digital tool sector will form soon in central Taiwan," he said, "because more insiders will upgrade to these products in order to differentiate themselves from competitors in emerging countries."

A Glance at the Top Makers

Among the foremost Taiwanese digital tool makers with their own brands in the global market is Eclatorq, the largest of this kind on the island with annual shipments of around 20,000 digital tools including torque wrenches, screwdrivers, and pullers. The company is capable of making digital tools with a maximum torque force of 850n/m, and provides an online calibration platform and free software for downloading.

Stand Tools is also notable for its determination to work with MEMS-integrated digital tools. Insisting on perfection in precision of torque, the company uses MEMS chips in its digital torque wrenches as a means of improving precision.

The company claims that its torque wrenches are impervious to ambient conditions and are especially cost-efficient because they need only one MEMS sensor instead of four strain gages; resulting in a simplicity of design that not only reduces defect rates but also enhances measuring accuracy. Stand Tools concentrates on markets in European countries. (Nov. 2009)