The diverse world of wrenches: a complete analysis of their structure, uses and features

Wrenches are something we use in our daily lives and various A wrench is a tool that is often used in various work scenarios. There are many types of wrenches, and each type of wrench has its own unique structure and specific purpose. The following is a detailed introduction to the structure and use of common wrenches.

1. Open-end wrench


Structural features


Open-end wrenches have openings at both ends. Size matches the hexagonal head across flats of the nut or bolt. There are single-ended open-end wrenches and double-ended open-end wrenches. The single-ended open end is used for one specification, while the double-ended open ends are different in size and can be used for two specifications.

Purpose


It is often used in general mechanical assembly, maintenance and other scenes where the precision requirements are not very high and the space is relatively open. For example, in simple furniture assembly During the process, it is used to tighten or loosen ordinary hexagonal nuts; when repairing some parts of the bicycle, it can also conveniently operate related nuts and bolts.

2. Plum wrench


Structural features


The two ends are closed plum blossom-shaped rings, and the concave shape of the rings matches the hexagonal or twelve-pointed head of the nut or bolt. The heads match.

Purpose


Because of its closed shape, it can fit tightly on the head of the nut or bolt, providing a better High torque, often used for the removal and installation of nuts of engine parts in automobile maintenance, and bolt connections that require greater tightening force in mechanical equipment. It is also more convenient to operate in narrow spaces, such as tightening bolts in compact internal structures of some equipment. The box end wrench is often used at work.

3. Socket wrench


Structural features


< It is composed of a socket head, a connecting rod, a ratchet wrench and other parts. The socket head is a hollow hexagonal or decimal The two-dimensional square cylindrical structure can be put on the nut or bolt head and connected to the ratchet wrench through a connecting rod.

Purpose


It is widely used in automobile manufacturing, mechanical assembly, equipment maintenance and other fields. The socket head can be quickly changed to suit fasteners of various specifications. For example, in the engine compartment of a car, where there are densely packed parts and limited space, the socket wrench can easily tighten bolts of different positions and specifications. Operations such as removing and installing spark plugs, etc.

4. adjustable wrench


Structural features



Purpose


Its adjustable opening makes it suitable for nuts and bolts of various specifications. Temporary operation. It is more common in home maintenance scenarios, such as tightening or loosening nuts on pipes when repairing water pipes, and in small equipment maintenance, it can be used as an emergency tool when there is no fixed wrench of suitable specifications, but it is not suitable for high-precision and high-precision operations. Torque requirements for the job.

5. Hexagon wrench


Structural features


< It is an L-shaped metal rod with a hexagonal head on one end. The size and specifications are the same as the hexagon socket bolt. Or the hexagonal size of the nut.

Purpose


It is mainly used to turn hexagonal bolts or nuts. In furniture assembly, it is often used to install connectors such as tables and chairs; in electronic equipment installation, it can fix small circuit boards or components; in the assembly of mechanical precision components, it can provide better appearance flatness and higher connection accuracy.

6. Torque wrench


Structural features


It is mainly composed of the wrench body, dial, adjustment knob and other parts.

Purpose


Used in situations where there are strict requirements on the tightening force of bolts, such as when assembling automobile engines, bolts of different specifications must be tightened according to the specified torque value to ensure reliable connection of engine components; in bridge construction, the bolt connection of steel structures also requires torque wrenches to accurately control the tightening force to ensure structural safety.

7. Ratchet Wrench


Structural Features


It has a ratchet mechanism that can rotate in one direction, and the ratchet rotates idly in the reverse direction.

Purpose


It is usually used in conjunction with a socket wrench. It can greatly improve work efficiency in jobs that require frequent tightening or loosening of nuts and bolts, such as automobile repair and mechanical assembly. For example, when replacing a car tire, the socket can be used to quickly remove and install the tire nut.

8. Dual-purpose wrench


Structural features


One ​​end is an open-end wrench and the other end is a box wrench.

Purpose


It has the advantages of both open-end wrenches and plum-end wrenches, and is suitable for work that has both open-end wrenches and plum-end wrenches. In some simple mechanical repairs, if you need to operate different types of nuts and don't want to change tools frequently, a two-purpose wrench is a good choice, such as the maintenance of small agricultural machinery.

9. hook wrench


Structural features


There is a curved hook structure at one end.

Purpose


Mainly used to turn round nuts or nuts with holes. In pipeline connections, it can be used to tighten or loosen round nuts on pipelines; in the installation or removal of round parts of some equipment, such as the operation of fixing nuts on the round end covers of large equipment.

10. Pipe clamp


Structural features


It consists of a clamp handle, a movable jaw, a fixed jaw, etc. The movable jaw is adjusted to clamp the pipe.

Purpose


Specially used for clamping and turning various metal pipes or other cylindrical workpieces. In plumbing installation, it is used to tighten or loosen water pipe joints; in oil pipeline maintenance, it can operate the connection and disassembly of pipelines.

11. Chain wrench


Structural features


It consists of a chain, a handle, a sprocket, etc. Wrap the chain around the workpiece and tighten the chain by turning the sprocket through the handle.

Purpose


Suitable for round workpieces with larger diameters and some irregularly shaped round workpieces. For example, in the maintenance of cylindrical parts of large industrial equipment, when ordinary pipe wrenches or other wrenches cannot be used, chain wrenches can be operated by winding the chain to clamp the workpiece; in the petrochemical industry, it may also be used when operating round parts at the interface of large oil storage tank pipelines.

12. Special wrench


Structural features


Designed for nuts and bolts with special shapes or special uses, the shape and structure are determined according to specific needs.

Purpose


In the aerospace field, it is used to operate fasteners of aircraft engine parts with unique shapes; in working environments with special protection requirements (such as explosion-proof, anti-static, etc.), such as specific areas in chemical production, it is used to turn nuts and bolts that meet the corresponding standards.

13. pneumatic wrench


Structural features


Use compressed air as the power source to drive the wrench to rotate, usually composed of the wrench body, pneumatic motor and other parts.

Purpose


In large-scale production fields such as automobile manufacturing and large-scale machinery assembly, due to its large torque and fast speed, it can greatly improve work efficiency. For example, on the automobile production line, a large number of bolts on the automobile body can be quickly tightened; in the assembly process of large-scale engineering machinery, it can quickly complete the tightening of many bolts.

14. Electric wrench


Structural features


Powered by an electric motor to turn nuts or bolts, it generally includes a wrench body, a battery (or power cord), a motor, and other parts.

Purpose


It is widely used in the construction, decoration, mechanical maintenance and other industries. In the construction industry, it can be used to tighten the bolts in the building structure; in decoration, it is used to install fixings that require a large torque, such as the fixing bolts of large chandeliers; in mechanical maintenance, it can be used to disassemble or install large bolts to improve work efficiency.

15. hydraulic wrench


Structural features


It consists of a hydraulic pump, a hydraulic cylinder, a wrench head and other parts.

Purpose


It is mainly used for fastening and disassembling of large bolts, such as fastening large bolts at the connection between wind turbine tower and blades in wind power generation equipment; performing precise fastening operations on large bolts of the main structure of bridges in the construction and maintenance of large bridges; and fastening and disassembling bolts at the connection of large reactors and pipeline flanges in petrochemical equipment.

16. Impact wrench


Structural features


Through the impact force to twist the nut or bolt, it can be divided into pneumatic impact wrench and electric impact wrench.

Purpose


Applicable to situations where nuts and bolts need to be quickly removed or installed, and the torque accuracy requirement is not particularly high. For example, when replacing car tires, the tire nuts can be loosened and tightened quickly and effectively; in the disassembly and assembly of some simple mechanical parts, when precise torque control is not required, work efficiency can be improved.

The world of wrenches is rich and colorful. Understanding their structure and purpose can make us more comfortable when using tools. Whether it is minor repairs in family life or work in professional fields, we can choose the right wrench to complete the task efficiently and accurately. I hope that through this popular science article, everyone can have a deeper understanding of wrenches.
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