Chicago Pneumatic has launched a new nutrunner that offers high power, low maintenance and almost no vibration in the toughest environments. Weighing as little as 3.8kg (8.3 lbs.), the CP66 is equipped with a sturdy stabilizing arm to aid operator comfort.
With models capable of delivering 1,300, 2,600 or 4,100Nm (960, 1,900 or 3,100 lb.-ft.), the CP66 is a highly compact and powerful nutrunner that will deliver exactly the right amount of torque to tighten or loosen bolts time after time, says the company. Models in the range are available to deal with bolts ranging from 20mm to 45mm (3/4” to 1-3/4”). The CP66 will also keep going for longer, with maintenance required on average every 13,000 cycles, rather than the typical 10,000 cycles of comparable tools. Delivering an accuracy of +/- 5%, the CP66 can be used in conjunction with an ATC (Air Torque Control) FRL Pack, which enables extremely fine pressure adjustment and gives a visual indication of any pressure drops in the customer’s air network, allowing the operator to detect any tightening errors.
The CP66 has also been designed with operator safety in mind. Lightweight and easy to handle, it operates with little vibration and with much lower noise levels than an impact wrench: the nutrunner operates at around 86-88dB compared to an average impact wrench at 105dB. Its strong, lightweight (SLW) reaction bar is extremely durable and absorbs the torque delivered by the nutrunner’s powerful but compact gearbox, as well as stabilizing the tool and distributing its weight during operation. All of these features are incorporated to reduce operator fatigue and avoid the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) while delivering optimum performance.
Tried and Tested
Chicago Pneumatic is confident that the CP66 delivers major benefits because it has tested the new nutrunner in customer conditions during several trials.
The most powerful model, the CP6641, was given a one-month trial at a wind turbine hub assembly plant. Due to customer demand, the wind turbine manufacturer needed to improve its build rate from five hubs per week to eight hubs per week. This may sound simple, but each hub has 240 individual bolts. Increasing productivity by 60% without loss of accuracy and quality was therefore a real challenge.
During the trial, the wind turbine assembly team replaced their existing impact wrench and nutrunner with a new CP6641 nutrunner. The results were very positive, with operators reporting a much more consistent performance. They also found the CP66 reaction bar, which is made of steel, a much better option than the competitor version made from a soft metal.
A second trial saw the CP6641 applied to railroad maintenance. The poor performance of previous hydraulic tools had led the maintenance team to decide they would not use torque-controlled tools, so this was a tough nut to crack in more ways than one! However, they really liked the CP6641 nutrunner because it could remove the toughest bolts and access some hard-to-reach areas. This was a marked improvement over competitor tools, which were having failures after one week of use and were not able to remove all bolts.
“We wanted to offer customers an alternative to using impact wrenches for bolting applications, as well as improving performance, safety and precision,” Christophe Roland, very high load product marketing manager of Chicago Pneumatic, said. “The CP66 not only looks good on paper, we know from the customer trials that it really does deliver improvements in performance, durability and operator satisfaction — not only when compared to impact wrenches, but to other nutrunners on the market.”
The CP66 is supplied as standard with an S-type bolt head. Optional alternatives include a sliding-drive, a steel space bar and a square bracket.
For more information on the new CP66 nutrunner, visit cp.com.
