Pneumatic screwdrivers and a 36 part fixture I use- Kind of a how to

I bought 3 used pneumatic screwdrivers on Ebay a few weeks ago that I wanted to show off and since I was running this fixture yesterday I figured I might as well include it as well. The screwdrivers are something we all need when tightening and loosening screws, especially to hold parts. They are torque limited so they tighten the same every time, no "feel" required from the operator. The 4 screwdrivers in the photo would be around $4300 if purchased new but used they are around $180. With a little maintenance they will last a lifetime so used is a pretty good risk.

With the fixture I am running I am using clamps that are similar to Uniforce clamps. I have to be careful with how tight I get them because a little too loose and the parts move/ come out and a little too tight and the fixture is deformed. With these clamps it is pretty easy to deform the fixture by getting the clamps a little too tight. I am currently opening the top of both fixtures .005" when the clamps are tightened down with the screwdriver set to it's minimum setting of 13 in lbs. At least it is consistent so I can comp for the movement. For best efficiency I like to program 4 parts at a time when doing this type of work so everything is designed around this, to the point of making my own clamps to get what I want.

The screwdrivers will torque a screw down from 1 to 50 in lbs with a gap from 9 to 13 because I screwed up when selecting the tools to buy. 3 of the tools are 800-1100 rpm with the second biggest screwdriver being 2300 rpm. The higher the rpm the less torque so that is how I ended up with the hole. You want these tools to be around 1000 rpm for general shop use. They automatically start driving the screw when you push down on them and automatically turn off when the clutch sets. The button on the side is to reverse it. They are far better at this than battery operated drills with a clutch, to the point of being worth the price if bought new. If you have never used one you should get a few to try out. I got the 3 largest screwdrivers from palmindustialeast on Ebay and it looks like he still has quite a few left. I think you would want the 30 to 50 size of this brand. For parts or information on them the Aimco website is very good. You can even get the maintenance manuals showing how to take them apart and what to do. I have only used a few brands of these tools but Uryu is by far my favorite.

Anyway here are a few photos of what I have been talking about and a video showing sections of my old boxway mill making parts. The full cycle is 18 minutes for both ops so I only show some of the machining to keep it from being too boring. Please excuse the poor editing because I don't have any video editing software and just used my phone to make it, real fast and dirty.

The last photo is my workstation at the mill. The only real interesting part is the plastic tub underneath it. Now that it is my shop I DO NOT blow the fixtures off while the spindle is stopped. I do that in the tub while the machine is making parts. This alone is good for saving 30-90 seconds per cycle.


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That's pretty awesome, I'm using lots of fixture plates currently, and for a while to come. Thanks for sharing! Is there anything you recommend looking for or avoiding in regards to those used screwdrivers? Brand, kind etc? Also,, who makes those clamps, I've got some fixture plates that are getting crazy expensive and I'd love a cheaper alternative. How do you like those ones?

For some reason the third paragraph didn't load but I got it now, thanks for the info that's the best info I've gotten in a while, very cool!

I really only have experience with ARO and Uryu pneumatic screwdrivers. They both work the same but I like the action of the Uryu best. I just looked for general condition and return policy. If it works great, if not return it. The risk of buying used off the internet. Kind of why I linked who I bought from since all three tools were good. Only problem was a missing O ring to hold a cover in place over the clutch, of which I found something that worked in my stash.

The clamps I made myself from scratch. I always wished for a few changes in the Uniforce clamps so when I had a need for around $600 worth of their clamps, if they even made them, I had 2 form tools made to make the wedges, 1 is just a spare. My wedges work with 10-15 degrees per side shells, are thicker, and the top of the wedge is flush with the top of the shell when clamped, Uniforce of the same size are proud .05" when clamped. The shells are screwed down so they don't move around or get chips under them when in use. It is real nice to have the exact clamp needed for the part, part and clamp lengths were never the same before.

Nice thread! I do a TON of tightening screws and compensate torque for draining batteries on my drill. I'm going shopping for these!

Hey... About those clamps.... What size are the ones you made?

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Haha, I know exactly what you mean, I had a little pull out the other day and cut that 0.05in off the top of four or five of my clamps. I like the idea of making them myself. I'm in the line right now, it's just about pissed me off enough to make then myself. Nice work!

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They are 1/2" wide and tall with a #8 SHC screw. The only dimension I can't change is the contact area of the wedge.

By the way the original thread posted by mistake when it choked on the Youtube address. There is a better thread available that I meant to post. I will try to fix this one so it is a duplicate of the intended thread.

Those screw drivers would be a life saver, tighten and loosening all those screws would get old fast.

Ordered 2 tonight. A 1000rpm and a 1650rpm. $110 w free shipping Thank you!

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Tbev said:

Haha, I know exactly what you mean, I had a little pull out the other day and cut that 0.05in off the top of four or five of my clamps. I like the idea of making them myself. I'm in the line right now, it's just about pissed me off enough to make then myself. Nice work!

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When I make the wedges I adjust them so they contact the clamp in the middle of where the clamp contacts the part. Not a big deal until your parts are .07" thick where clamped and the stock starts out .625 thick so you need all the help you can get. I have started designing the clamps to reduce chip ingress to make cleaning the fixtures easier between cycles. I can make the clamp the same length of the part, cap the ends, and have .003" clearance between the clamping surface and fixture pocket bottom to keep the chips out. This alone is almost worth it. One part I make is from a UHMW rectangle. I now have the wedges bottom out so they can only clamp so hard. The advantages of making my own clamps just keep increasing.

I have been using the Dewalt brushless drills and they are holding up good for over a year, I can run parts all day on one charge.
I looked at air tools but the airline looked like a pain to work around

D.D.Machine said:

I have been using the Dewalt brushless drills and they are holding up good for over a year, I can run parts all day on one charge.
I looked at air tools but the airline looked like a pain to work around

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That is exactly what I've been using the 20 volt Max. After about 45 or 50 screws my shoulder starts to get a little pissed off. It's a little worse when I start thinking that I still have to put the damn things back in. Hanging one of these from the top of the mill on bungee me and this zero weight. Just adjust the bungee in the clamp so that the tip of the tool sits right in the park or even better an inch or two above. Pulling down to put it into the screw and lifting up assisted by the bungee means no shoulder soreness doing 1500 or 2000 screws per day.

I am not going to be running those parts again for a few months but I can tell you I'm already excited about it LOL

I'm thinking I'll make a shield for it with a magnet so all I have to do is lift it up and smack it on the magnet and it's protected from the coolant above the umbrella

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I'm using a dewalt too and it's heavy, sucks .. Mcg better than manually doing it but it's heavy, pisses my shoulder off as well..

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I used to use a drill... but like everyone says it beats up your wrist and elbow. So I found a small cordless impact with programmable torque and shutoff.

MILWAUKEE 2757-22 Fuel 1/4'' Hex Impact Driver Kit - - Amazon.com

Not as fancy as the pneumatic stuff, but works a treat for fixtures that need more torque.

That's a clever impact right there. It's held up well?

Can't really say yet, I only got it in November.

I got a new(er) dewalt still, it's smaller than my original but it's still a decent sized drill, big difference between it and tbd is full size do I can imagine how much nicer a small tool will be.

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