GM's "Smart Bolts"

[darylzero]

Read this article in Popular Mechanics and thought it was pretty cool.
The bolt used in their engines at at a New York factory have an RFID chip in them which knows what happens at each stage of the engine building process. So if one stage is to torque 10 bolts down at say 25ft lbs on the engine at the same time once it's finished it will "write" in the bolts RFID tag that all the bolts got put in at 25ft lbs, or if there was an issue it will note bolt #3 only went it at 23ft lbs. After reading this I thought about the Rogue post here in General Chat where the transmission had to be replaced at 3k miles and some of you said it must of been something happened at the building process and these Bolts would fix exactly that kind of issue.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Certainly a good quality control element. But if the computer's smart enough to label a bolt as improperly torqued, shouldn't it just flag it there? Why label it to be caught at the NEXT step?

[BusyBadger]

Certainly a good quality control element. But if the computer's smart enough to label a bolt as improperly torqued, shouldn't it just flag it there? Why label it to be caught at the NEXT step?

By "flagging" do you mean, stopping the line and taking care of it on the spot? My guess would be it's done this way keep the line from stopping.

As for quality control I look at it from the larger scope of something that was printed towards the end of the article...

Although quality control during the manufacturing ­process is the main goal of the new data-bolt RFID ­system, it is also proving to be a huge help in post-­production troubleshooting. If a supplier notifies the factory of a bad batch of parts, it’s easy to zero in on the exact engines on which they were installed using the database of information saved from the bolts.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

All those tools are transducerized and computer controlled already (and tied to the line so it will stop the line if something goes wrong).

It SOUNDS like the bolt itself doesn't have a mini strain gauge or something in it, and the tool itself is what writes the data to the bolt.

I'm struggling to see a true useful application for this.

[elwesso]

All those tools are transducerized and computer controlled already (and tied to the line so it will stop the line if something goes wrong).

It SOUNDS like the bolt itself doesn't have a mini strain gauge or something in it, and the tool itself is what writes the data to the bolt.

I'm struggling to see a true useful application for this.

Perhaps part marketing for people, and part for any funny business at either the dealer or consumer level?

[elwesso]

All those tools are transducerized and computer controlled already (and tied to the line so it will stop the line if something goes wrong).

It SOUNDS like the bolt itself doesn't have a mini strain gauge or something in it, and the tool itself is what writes the data to the bolt.

I'm struggling to see a true useful application for this.

Also, chances are if there is an issue, that means the bolt is already broken. If it's a threaded connection, that means the bolt is probably stuck inside something, which means that it may have to be drilled out, destroying the B-Chip... If it's a bolt/nut connection then that means it's probably busted in half and who knows if you could find it?

I wonder how many problems are actually traced back to improperly torqued bolts? My guess is it's very little, considering the amount of technology that goes into torquing bolts and the use of thread locking compounds...

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Well, you can have out of spec torque, be it too low or too high (or cross-thread/junk in the threads). Ultimately the end failure mode is improper clamp load in the joint. All the tools that they use to secure these fasteners already have the technology to record this based on the VIN of whatever vehicle the part you're working belongs to.
My guess is that this is what writes that information to the bolt (the tool writes the bolt, instead of the bolt "sensing" that it it has been put to a certain torque). If it were the latter, the bolts would be insanely expensive.

So just because something isn't torqued properly doesn't mean it breaks the fastener. It happens from time to time, but its super rare. Typically that only happens if your tool is way out of calibration, or you somehow contaminated your fasteners with a lubricant when they are supposed to be dry.

[darylzero]

I think there may be just one smart bolt per engine block. Like PapaSmurf said the current tool the engine block is at, then sends a wireless transmission to the one bolt when it is finished with all the info.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Now that I re-read it, I think you are absolutely correct. Its just an RFID tag that just so happens to be a bolt. I'm not sure it even secures anything.
Its kind of like a barcode scanner that incorporates the barcodes from every sub-assembly and important operation information. And it doesn't eventually wear/fall off like a normal barcode sticker might.

[hannibal]

Pretty cool. It's like an automated quality control device. Instead of a person inspecting several engines, the bolt acts as a assembly log. It tracks each stage and will kick out motors that don't meet specs. Then a person can look it over a decide how to fix the issue.

It reminds me of scanning OBD codes. You could get up every morning and preform an inspection of your engine. But chances are high that the one time there is a problem, you may just overlook it. Instead, when you start your car, OBD scans the motor for you, and let's you know when it finds something to be concerned about. Then you can follow up and decide how to correct the problem. The RFID chips allow a person to spend their time fixing issues instead of searching for the 1 out of 100 motors that needs their attention.