The Tensor IxB platform by Atlas Copco reinvents the Manufacturing Industry

This is the first generation of Atlas Copco tools with integrated controllers – all innovatively designed to enable future requirements of customers. With the Tensor IxB platform, customers get a tool family which is lighter, faster and smaller, yet has the same, powerful performance of cabled tools.  

Atlas Copco first presented Smart Connected Assembly in 2017, as its contribution to Industry 4.0 and the Smart Factory. The concept, comprising of how Atlas Copco smart tools and solutions continuously collect data and create values to support our customers, has attracted major attention from industry professionals and the media. The Tensor IxB platform follows the footsteps of this digital transformation, by making it possible to run the new platform directly in the tools. This challenges the traditional physical controller set up. It enhances the intelligence of manufacturing and leads to increased flexibility.

With the Tensor IxB platform, Atlas Copco is reinventing the assembly process. This by increasing efficiency, reducing the need for hardware and equipment, as well as reducing energy consumption. The factory operator remains in complete process control of the station, and it will be easier to set up new stations and rebalance existing ones.

“New consumer, regulatory and technological demands impact how the factory of the future must be designed and operated”, states Tim Mann, Global Product Manager at Motor Vehicle Industry. “With the Tensor IxB platform, the functionality of the physical controller is moved into the tool itself, and it is integrated directly to the production system. The tools can be set up with different tightening programs, socket selectors and positioning tags. A virtual copy of the integrated controller settings and data backup is kept in a card, which can be moved from one tool to another. This gives a lot of freedom to the factory operator, and reduces risks of human errors. And, it really simplifies the rebalancing and other changes of the assembly lines.”

The Tensor IxB platform comes in two main tool ranges, and a variety of tool accessories. With compact and slim design, the tools improve the ergonomics for factory operators, as well as increasing the quality of the final product.

The Tensor IxB platform is part of the future in Smart Factories, and a great contribution to how employed data creates value for customers. It is already in successful use across several sectors of the Manufacturing Industry.

The Tensor IxB platform is currently introduced at a number of webinars hosted all around the world. For a short introduction, watch the Tensor IxB platform introduction on Youtube.