Story ID: 
Study: Link Tools Reduce Maintenance Time
By: David A. Lombardo
Caption: In a three-month-long test conducted by the U.S.
Word Count: 202
In a three-month-long test conducted by the U.S. Army Aviation Training Center at Fort Eustis, 18 common mechanic’s tools were replaced by automatic-locking Link tools. Army instructors reported that, depending upon the type of task, during the testing period there was a 25- to 50-percent reduction in task duration. Further findings included a 40-percent overall cumulative risk reduction with no injuries reported as a result of disconnecting sockets and no dropped or lost sockets. John Davidson, the company’s president, attributes the improvement to the construction of the Link tools. He explained that traditional tools use a ball bearing. “It’s round and if you put stress on it the tool will come apart. In aviation it is common to work in places where tools are rubbing against surfaces, resulting in inadvertent disconnects,” he told AIN. “To make matters worse, sockets are round and tend to roll into places where they become difficult and time consuming to retrieve.” Link tools use a spring-actuated diagonal steel pin that goes into a detent in the adjoining tool. Any stress put on the tool simply pushes the pin further into the detent so external stress tightens the lock instead of disconnecting it.