Smartbolts
smartbolts.com
Smartbolts
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Re: Smartbolts
#2I don’t ride rollercoasters but if I did I would want them to use these.
Re: Smartbolts
#3I’m a mechanical engineer - smartbolts are cool but rarely used in my experience. Much more commonly used are DTI washers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tension_indicator
Due to the washer style can be used with a wide range of fasteners. The most common type, in my experience, due to the ease of use, has a little bit of colored goo inside the arched cells. The goo squirts out when the specified torque is reached.
That being said, there are a lot of approaches to this same problem. Another common technique is breakaway bolts that are driven with a piece that snaps away when a certain torque is reached: https://youtu.be/lrCoi3gaLfU
Re: Smartbolts
#4I’m a mechanical engineer - smartbolts are cool but rarely used in my experience. Much more commonly used are DTI washers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tension_indicator Due to the washer style can be used with a wide range of fasteners. The most common type, in my experience, due to the ease of use, has a little bit of colored goo inside the arched cells. The goo squirts out when the specified torque is re…
I'm not an ME or anything, but it would seem washers attest to pressure (tension) at some point in time (when the nut was tightened -unless the washer is "springy", which I doubt as it seems it simply yields at some point), whereas smartbolts attest to the tension when you look at them --so during maintenance and not only during installation, so from that PoV, they are more useful (informative).
Re: Smartbolts
#5I’m a mechanical engineer - smartbolts are cool but rarely used in my experience. Much more commonly used are DTI washers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tension_indicator Due to the washer style can be used with a wide range of fasteners. The most common type, in my experience, due to the ease of use, has a little bit of colored goo inside the arched cells. The goo squirts out when the specified torque is re…
I'm not an ME or anything, but it would seem washers attest to pressure (tension) at some point in time (when the nut was tightened -unless the washer is "springy", which I doubt as it seems it simply yields at some point), whereas smartbolts attest to the tension when you look at them --so during maintenance and not only during installation, so from that PoV, they are more useful (informative).
That’s true, but you can have a qualified inspector mark bolts with goo with a paint line that straddles to the fastening surface. Then you can just inspect the paint line for movement, which gets you most of the same functionality at significantly lower cost.
Of course, that requires a trustworthy inspector, which is one application where smartbolts become useful, if you don’t have a trustworthy inspector available at install time. But many projects that have importantly torqued fasteners (bridges, buildings, rollercoasters) have certified inspectors anyway… which is why smartbolts are a niche product I think.
Speaking to the trust problem - if you trust the operator of the torquing install device, you don’t need fancy torque indication at all, just mark the paint line at install. That is the most cost effective.
Re: Smartbolts
#6I’m a mechanical engineer - smartbolts are cool but rarely used in my experience. Much more commonly used are DTI washers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tension_indicator Due to the washer style can be used with a wide range of fasteners. The most common type, in my experience, due to the ease of use, has a little bit of colored goo inside the arched cells. The goo squirts out when the specified torque is re…
Smartbolts seem to be useful in applications where there is an expectation the bolts will loosen over time/the maintenance lifetime, reducing/easing inspection time.
Similar to the tell-tales used on truck lug nuts: https://www.dealsonwheels.co.nz/trucks/features/1302/new-tyr...
Re: Smartbolts
#7Some crazy canuck cut one in half to show how they (don't) work:
Re: Smartbolts
#8I’m a mechanical engineer - smartbolts are cool but rarely used in my experience. Much more commonly used are DTI washers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tension_indicator Due to the washer style can be used with a wide range of fasteners. The most common type, in my experience, due to the ease of use, has a little bit of colored goo inside the arched cells. The goo squirts out when the specified torque is re…
Smartbolts seem to be useful in applications where there is an expectation the bolts will loosen over time/the maintenance lifetime, reducing/easing inspection time. Similar to the tell-tales used on truck lug nuts: https://www.dealsonwheels.co.nz/trucks/features/1302/new-tyr...
Installing to a known torque and painting a line on the fastener is a lot less expensive, which becomes important when your project has potentially tens of thousands of key fasteners, like a bridge.
But for something like an MRI machine where there’s fewer fasteners and higher stakes - would make a lot of sense to use Smartbolt I think.
Tangential: related to trucks, there is a somewhat similar product to easily monitor tire pressure visually, which is popular: https://www.linkmfg.com/products/specialty-products/cats-eye
Re: Smartbolts
#9I’m a mechanical engineer - smartbolts are cool but rarely used in my experience. Much more commonly used are DTI washers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_tension_indicator Due to the washer style can be used with a wide range of fasteners. The most common type, in my experience, due to the ease of use, has a little bit of colored goo inside the arched cells. The goo squirts out when the specified torque is re…
Nice video of the colored goo in action: https://youtu.be/5BMQE5XnKww?t=372
Breakaway bolts are discussed/demonstrated a few seconds earlier.
Re: Smartbolts
#10Seems like something that would be very useful for furniture or mechanisms that are self assembled like Ikea, chairs etc by regular people. Easy visual inspection when things are loose.