#HTE

Cool Tools: The Overhead Automatic Screwdrivers That Factory Workers Use

Back when I visited Festool’s factory in Germany (image below), I got to see workers assembling a variety of their power tools. At their workstations, the workers had these cool automatic screwdrivers hanging overhead. When they needed to drive a fastener, they grabbed the tool, brought it down to the work and the screw was automatically driven with the correct torque.

I didn’t get to see who made these wondrous driving tools, but I think I’ve just found out. My wife used to work in a manufacturing facility that employed identical tools, and she believes it’s a German company called Deprag. Sadly their videos are kind of awful, though the tools are very cool:

Is it me, or does it sound like the narrator’s wife and children are being held hostage to force him to record this? In any case, Deprag’s latest versions are designed with automatic screw/nut feeders:

Prior to that innovation, they had screw-feeding machines:

A Chinese company called G-Wei makes similar tools. Here’s a video of how they’re used on a production line:

It reminds me a bit of those overhead flex shaft grinder workstations.