cordless
Tools Ensure Quality, Improve Ergonomics on Golf Cart Assembly Line
www.assemblymag.com
Electric vehicles may be all
the rage now among automo-
tive manufacturers, but golf car
makers have been using the
technology since the early 1950s.
Specifically, the Marketeer Co.
first began producing electric cars
in Redlands, CA, in 1951. By the
late 1950s, other companies en-
tered the market, including Club
Car Inc. in 1958.
Sixty years later, Club Car LLC is
one of the world’s largest man-
ufacturers of small-wheel, elec-
tric vehicles. The company also
makes gas-engine-powered cars
and hundreds of accessories that
let golfers customize their cars.
Club Car operated as an indepen-
dent company until it was pur-
chased in 1978 by eight former
executives of golf-car rival E-Z-
GO. The company was sold again
in 1995 to Ingersoll Rand (IR).
Interestingly, assemblers at Club
Car’s Augusta, GA, plant had
been using IR’s air- and DC-pow-
ered precision screwdrivers and
angle wrenches long before the
acquisition.
They continued to use these tools
for many more years because of
their error-proofing capabilities.
In 2016, however, management
replaced them with cordless QX
Series tools from IR to improve
worker productivity and safety.
The tools are compact, light-
weight and ergonomically de-
signed so assemblers can work
comfortably without the constraint
of air hoses or power cords. With
increased freedom, assemblers
more easily work in tight spaces
and reach certain fasteners on
the cars they are assembling. This
is particularly true for two-handed
tasks when the operator needs to
hold the power tool in one hand
and a wrench in the other to in-
stall the fastener. • A wireless communications
system that integrates tools into a
factory-wide network and enables
configuration adjustments remote-
ly and in real time.
Fastener access is also improved
in a special staging area for cars
that have already been assem-
bled. There, workers attach
canopies to cars, customize cars
to meet customer requirements,
refurbish fleet vehicles and
perform rework to correct minor
quality problems. Since the area
is located outside the factory, it
cannot be accessed with conven-
tional pneumatic or electric tools. The cordless tools enhance
quality by reducing variance so
that more fasteners are installed
correctly the first time. In addition,
software in the tools automatical-
ly counts fasteners as they are
installed, ensuring traceability and
reducing liability. If a fastener is
missed, the tool notifies the user,
and the issue is addressed before
it becomes a quality problem.
Unlike standard corded hand
tools, the QX series features
several advanced technologies,
including:
• A closed-loop transducer con-
trol that delivers precise torque
and accurate, traceable results.
• A multifunction display module
that allows for quick setup and
feedback on every tool.
• Eight user-programmable con-
figurations for torque, angle, and
speed.
Overall, nearly 50 of these tools
are used at the Augusta plant,
which encompasses 400,000
square feet and produces sever-
al hundred cars per day on four
assembly lines. Lean manufactur-
ing is emphasized throughout the
plant, along with product quality.
Plant managers say that Club
Car assemblers love QX tools
because they increase worker
flexibility and eliminate the over-
head hazards of hanging air tools
that inevitably lead to bruised
foreheads. Another benefit is
assemblers can now easily talk
to each other on the line because
the tools operate so quietly.
For more information on cordless
fastening tools, call 704-655-4000
or visit www.ingersollrandprod-
ucts.com.
MAY 2018
13