UNDER PREPARATION MECHANICAL TOOLS AND ITS APPLICATIONS Introduction Tools are very important in production as well as in the maintenance divisions. Therefore the study of tools is inevitable for engineering students. Screw driver Screwdrivers are used for driving the screws to install or remove the components. Screwdriver has a very stiff rod with a handle which should not twist or bend while applying force. The handle may be made from wood or good grade plastic. There are mainly two types of screwdrivers are available they are 1.Phillips type 2. Reed and Prince type The Philips type screwdriver has two crossing blades that fit into a star shaped recess and the included angle of the tip will be 60 degree. For using electric and pneumatic types of screwdrivers this type will be used. The reed type screw drivers are always used by manual power for driving the screw. Spanners Spanners are used to tighten or loosen the nut and bolt in the assembly or dismantling or components and parts. There are many types of spanners available including pipe wrench which is also included in the spanner category. Some of the most important types are as given below with figures for easy understanding. Double end spanner, Ring spanner, Box spanner, Adjustable spanner, Pipe wrench Double end spanners have the working head on both ends with different size and the angle of the slot will be 30 degree shifted from the axis of the body. The length of the spanner is decided with the maximum force with which a particular size of the bolt/nut can be tightened. The size of the opening will be usually embossed on the spanner. The size of the spanner is given in mm which is the size of nut (distance between the F/F of the nut or bolt head) Allen keys Allen keys are used for removing Allen screws/bolts. The Allen key is ‘L’ shaped hexagonal rod which can be inserted into the recess provided in the head of the screws. Usually Allen keys are used mainly in machine building where the head should not project from the surface of the machine. The size of the keys varies according to the size of the bolt/screw head. Cutting pliers