Snap-on Wins Three PTEN Awards

Snap-on Incorporated has won three innovation awards at this year’s Professional Tool & Equipment News (PTEN) Innovation Awards. The US publication selected Snap-on for this distinction in the hand tools category for its 10-piece, 1/4-inch drive metric low profile ratchet/socket set, the tool storage category for its KEW-Series LED light assembly system for tool storage units and the equipment category for the Quadriga automatic tyre changer.

“We are truly honoured to have received three Innovation Awards this year and we’d like to thank all of the PTEN readers who chose Snap-on products,” said Tom Ward, president, Snap-on Repair Systems and Information Group. “These awards are especially meaningful for us because they are voted on by shop owners and technicians – the people who use our tools and equipment in their repair bays every day and rely on their ability to safely increase productivity and simplify tasks.”

Snap-on’s new low profile ratchet/socket set (110RTSM) is described as being perfect for under-dash cramped quarters, under cowls on late model pickup trucks, transmission bolts on traverse mounted engines and torque converter belts. The ratchet and socket system is up to 43 per cent shorter than a standard 1/4-inch ratchet with a 1/4-inch shallow socket. Sockets are 6 point and range in size from 5mm to 13mm.

The company’s recently introduced KEW-Series super bright LED light bar is a high-end lighting system for Snap-on tool storage units. Snap-on reports it is the brightest system available, throwing 2080 lumens of useful light output and doubling the DOE rating for under-cabinet lighting. Top quality 60mil by 60mil LED chips (2.25 times larger than commonly used commercial LED chips) are directly mounted in the aluminium housing using patented technology and are individually housed to optimise heat dissipation so the LEDs stay cool. Furthermore, while most commercial LEDs dim over time, Snap-on says its system uses much larger, longer lasting LEDs. Technicians assessing award nominees are said to have appreciated the system’s automatic on/off, and the magnetic installation.

The Quadriga ATC 1000 is, boasts Snap-on, the industry’s first truly automatic tyre changer. The manufacturer states that “no other tyre changer automatically measures tyre diameter, uses imaging technology to precisely profile the wheel, automatically positions the tyre for hydraulically-driven dual bead-breaking, and uses precise motor controls to remove the tyre from the wheel.” Standard features on the Quadriga ATC 1000 include an integrated wheel lift to handle heavy lifting and a hydraulically-activated centre clamp that safely clamps the wheel without the risk of damage associated with table-top machines. Snap-on’s trademarked Smart Vision laser-guided bead-breaking and demounting tools eliminate tool-to-wheel contact. The Quadriga can accommodate rims up to 30-inches in diameter and 17-inches wide, with a maximum wheel diameter of more than 47-inches.