news - Plarad

50 Years of Experience,
Competence & Quality
Maschinenfabrik Wagner GmbH
& Co. KG will be 50 years old next
year. The company was founded on
1/2/1962 in Much by Paul-Heinz
Wagner and can now look back on
50 years of market experience in
bolting technology. Since then,
there has been continuous further
development and improvement
2 · 2011
news
1962 -
2012
of bolting tools and services.
Maschinenfabrik Wagner particularly
values its close relationship with
customers and remains in regular
contact with manufacturers,
suppliers, universities and technical
research institutions to fi nd the
most innovative and most practical
solutions. ■
Page
2
Page
6
Page
8
Documentation for
on-site purposes
Report · Stadtwerke
Remscheid
How hydraulic
tensioners work

Klaus Teske
Many industrial fi rms are engaged in a process
of transformation from their original manual
production to the industrial manufacture of
their machined products.
2
Special
Bolting document
for on-site pu
The comprehensive and complete documentation
of bolted joints plays an ever greater role in this
process – there are even some plants which can be
insured only with documentation of their bolted
joints. Simple options for the documentation of
bolted joints are increasingly important – particularly
if the bolting is carried out on site. Unlike many
competitive products, Plarad bolting tools require no
additional sensors for the documentation of bolting
data. Torque values and, if required, rotation angles
are recorded by an internal sensor system in the
hydraulic power pack. The measured values actually
achieved by the bolting are simply archived in the
control unit for documentation purposes. Plarad
possesses the national and international
property rights to a large number of different processes.
Particularly on wet and dirty sites,
the fact that no additional sensors
are required means an increase in
the safety factor – no sensor to fail
because of a damp, dirty, oxidised
or incorrect plug connections, no
sensor to fall on the fl oor in rough
working conditions and no sensor
to be damaged during transport.
Furthermore the new Plarad
Control Unit BE X32 functions
completely independently. No
additional PC is required on site,
either for the retrieval of preset
bolting parameters or for the
documentation of the bolting
operations carried out.
The BE is easy to attach to the
power pack and remains
functional even in extreme
weather conditions, as it complies
with Protection Type IP 54.
Here, suitability for the work site

news
ation
rposes
also means the consideration of
various safety aspects. When the
appropriate confi guration is
chosen by the supervisor, the
worker has to enter his operator
number or his name in the BE
before starting work, so every
bolting process can subsequently
be attributed to the worker
responsible. The bolting tool
connected is automatically
recognised by the power pack and
is correspondingly assigned in the
BE. In this way, the risk of confusion
with other bolting tools is
avoided. Each bolting operation is
then saved directly in the BE and
can be viewed by the operator at
any time. Should a fault occur
during a bolting operation (e.g.
an operating error or a crossed
thread), the operator immediately
receives an error message. The
corresponding data record is saved
on the BE to ensure that defective
bolting is also documented and
appropriate reworking is possible.
The retrieved data is saved in a
tamper-proof database, the results
are therefore protected against
further manipulation that would
infl uence the actual data (results).
If necessary, they can later be exported
into an Excel fi le and remain
available for further processing. ■
+ + + I N T E R N A L + + +
Petra Hemming
Specialists for the US
windpower industry
The “Training of Specialists in the US Windpower Industry” is a
frequently discussed topic. In May 2011, together with its network
partners August Friedberg GmbH and PSA Sicherheitstechnik,
Maschinenfabrik Wagner/PLARAD organised a donation programme
consisting of PLARAD bolting tools, special windpower bolts from
the fi rm Friedberg and a complete PPE safety kit. This donation was
presented with heavy press coverage on the stand of the State of
Maine during the WINDPOWER Trade Fair in Anaheim/USA.
Donations like this often run into the sand, but that did not apply for
the recipients of this action: Northern Maine Community College
(NMCC) in Presque Isle, Maine. In the new semester, 40 students
have signed up for the subject “Technician in the Windpower
Industry” and will receive a solid training here for the next two years.
On the basis of their qualifi cation, the 14 graduates of the last year
are now sought-after specialists and have already found appropriate
jobs in the windpower industry in the USA. The training consists of a
theoretical and a practical section which, among other things,
includes many hours in the workshop and in the simulated wind
turbine tower. Great emphasis is placed on the subject of safety,
both in bolting technology and with regard to safety in the tower.
Because of their high quality and reliability, the products of PLARAD,
PSA and August Friedberg play an important role in the training
programme. ■
3

Preparation of the
supporting crosspiece
for assembly of the
electrical unit.
4
Highlight
Klaus Teske
Offshore
“BARD Offshore 1” is a
windpark under construction
in the North Sea by BARD
Engineering GmbH.
Power from the wind turbines that
were the fi rst to be erected was fed
into the grid for the fi rst time at the
beginning of December 2010. The
fi rm responsible for installation in
the BARD Group, BARD Building,
is pursuing its continuous optimisation
process. Maschinenfabrik
Wagner, with the brand Plarad, has
been able to make a contribution
to this process through installation
support. Among other things, this
covered the condition and the
application of PLARAD bolting
tools.
The focus here was on the utilisation
of the obtained fi ndings to
improve bolting results, to shorten
assembly times, to avoid machine
damage and to prevent accidents.
The safety during assembly of the
tower and the nacelle, for example,
was increased by means of
an optimised support, assembly
scrapes on the tower wall were
avoided and the mechanism of
the hydraulic bolting tool was
subjected to less stress.
The fi rm BARD was extremely satisfi
ed with the overall results and with
the optimisation measures. ■

Installation Support
Photo, top: On the jack-up vessel, where the components for
the offshore turbines are assembled, Plarad employee
Klaus Teske also trains BARD employees in the use of the
Plarad bolting systems.
Klaus Teske
Special support systems
for your bolting tools!
Maschinenfabrik Wagner GmbH & Co. KG develops
individual support systems to meet your requirements.
In addition to changing the nuts, you can also replace
your supports on the same tool.
Your advantages:
· Less strain on the machine mechanism
· Longer tool service life
· More precise bolting bolting results results through through
the minimisation of shear forces
· Greater safety for the workers
news
The fi rst tower segment is
lowered over the electrical unit.
5

Theo Grütters / Christine Engelsmann
6
Field Report
Tighten and release wit
Report by Ralf König, Master Motor Vehicle Mechanic, from the Bus Workshop
of Stadtwerke Remscheid GmbH.
Ralf König: “For implementation of the Noise
Abatement Ordinance in our bus workshop, the tools
used, especially the pneumatic bolting tools, are
extremely important. Torque values are continually
increasing, so that, when choosing new tools, the noise
emissions, handling and functionality play a major role.
Our local public transport workshops are subject to
constant change, with state-of-the-art vehicle
technology in both the electronic and mechanical
components. This development makes ever greater
demands, not only on our fi tters, but also on the workshop
organisations. Fault diagnosis on the bus takes up
a large part of the workshop capacity, so that
mechanical and electronic repair work almost always
has to be dealt with at the same time. It is therefore
essential to limit the noise from the mechanical work.
As the senior technician responsible for vehicle
engineering, I was forced to plan mechanical work in
such a way that extreme noise nuisance from
pneumatic bolting tools did not become a permanent
stress. In my search for low-noise tools, I came across
the electrically and pneumatically powered bolting tools
from Maschinenfabrik Wagner. When the fi rst contacts
were made with Wagner’s sales department, they were
surprised that a vehicle workshop wanted a demonstration
of their products.
Until then, their only customers had been industrial
fi rms with large machines and fastening elements
(power plants, wind turbines etc.) with extreme sizes
and torque values. A working demonstration in our
workshop was to bring new insights for both parties.
As we all know, the breakaway torques in assembly
work are so high that generally available pneumatic
bolting tools subject the fi tters to high and prolonged
vibration and noise stress. In addition, there was a lack
of innovative tools for tyre fi tting in local public transport
which could make a breakdown assignment safer.

hout stress!
Day of the demonstration:
A bus with hub-centred wheel rims was provided as
the test object. The bus tyres had had an uninterrupted
service life of approx. 46,000 km. The tightening torque
for the wheel nuts was 600 Nm.
The tools provided by Maschinenfabrik Wagner were
one pneumatic and one electrical bolting tool. First, the
breakaway torque of the wheel nuts on the bus was
measured. This torque was > 1000 Nm. It is amazing
how the tightness of wheel nuts develops after running
such a distance. No wonder normal pneumatic bolting
tools have great diffi culty in releasing these nuts.
The engineers at Wagner know the torque developed by
their products, so, fi rst of all, the pneumatic bolting tool
had to show what it was capable of. With a controlled
air pressure of 4.5 bar and with a soft whir, the wheel
nuts came off as if turned by hand. No noise could be
heard and no vibration was felt in the hands and arms
of the fi tter. Tightening the wheel nuts with a torque of
600 Nm was carried out with a controlled air pressure
of 1.9 bar and was even quieter. Wonderful! Peace and
safety at last for both workers and material. Our fi tters
now looked sceptically at the electrical bolting tool. The
level of the rotary force was set on the potentiometer.
A slight anti-clockwise movement with the sound of a
slowly turning drill, and the wheel nuts were loose. We
were amazed. We had never seen wheel nuts unscrewed
so quickly and so easily. And the tightening went just as
smoothly as the loosening. With no exaggeration,
brilliant. That was the solution for us!
We bought one of each bolting tool. In the following
months, individual extensions and accessories were
specially produced for our requirements. Setting values
for a wide range of torques were documented for the
news
bolting tools. Today, the handling of these bolting tools
during our bus repairs has been perfected. We loosen
and tighten more and more with high torque values.
The handling and effi ciency of these bolting tools have
enormous advantages in practical occupational safety.
The fl exibility of the electrical bolting tool would have
saved us many headaches over the years in the
loosening and tightening of bolted joints. We are
currently planning to fi t an inverter from 24 V to 220 V in
our breakdown truck so that we can use the electrical
bolting tool for fi tting work on the wheels of our vehicles.
Unfortunately, there is also a drawback. These bolting
tools are very costly to procure. But when the frequency
of use and the personal safety benefi ts for our fi tters
are taken into account, their procurement is absolutely
economical in the long term.” ■
For more information, contact:
Ralf König, Master Automotive Technician
r. koenig@stadtwerke-remscheid.de
7

www.plarad.com
?
Do you know ...
... how hydraulic tensioners work?
Its typical characteristics make the tensioners a special bolting tool.
It is very versatile in use. The preloading force can be set exactly.
No torsion forces are generated and different friction conditions have no infl uence.
Plarad tensioning cylinders of the latest generation actually reach their full performance
in operation with 800-bar power packs. Pressure multipliers are no longer necessary.
Components of the tensioner Operation
Step 1: The tensioner is placed on the bolt and
Casing cover
the draw nut is screwed on to the bolt thread.
Piston
Oil
pressure
ducts
Step 2: The oil pressure raises the piston,
together with the draw nut. The bolt is stretched
and the nut rises slightly with it, becoming
loose.
Oil
pressure
Step 4: The oil pressure is lowered.
The piston sinks. This relaxes the end of
the bolt. The draw nut can now be easily
unscrewed. The tensile force between the
nut and the bolt head remains in effect.
The bolted joint now has a controlled
preloading.
Draw nut
Lower
casing
The bolt is
stretched.
The nut is
loose.
Step 3: The nut is tightened until it touches the
surface. It has now reached its fi nal position.
The nut does not have to be tightened again.
Only until the
nut touches.
Do not tighten
further.
Maschinenfabrik Wagner GmbH & Co. KG • Birrenbachshöhe • D-53804 Much • Germany
Phone (Germany): (02245) 62 – 0 • Fax (Germany): (02245) 62 – 66 • E-Mail: info@plarad.com
Phone (international): +49 (0)2245 62 – 10 • Fax (international): +49 (0)2245 62 – 22
Internet: http://www.plarad.com • Issue: December 2011 • Responsible for content: Kirstin Wermter • Editing/Collaboration: Christine Engelsmann,
Theo Grütters, Klaus Hamacher, Petra Hemming, Pierre Muller, Lutz Schmidt, Klaus Teske, Kirstin Wermter, Andreas Zimmer • Photography: Christine
Engelsmann, Wayne Kilcollins, Markus Klein, Lutz Schmidt, Klaus Teske
Copyright: Reproduction or copying, even of extracts, only with prior written permission. Rights to modifi cation reserved.
We accept no liability for printing or factual errors. EK 10387 - 152 EN