Study on the grip spans of combination pliers in a maximum gripping task
Dae-Min Kima, Kyeong-Hee Choib, Sung-Yong Leeb, Yong-Ku Kongb
a Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Dongseo University, Busan, 47011, Republic of Korea
b Department of Industrial Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-746, Republic of Korea
Received 22 May 2015, Revised 10 March 2016, Accepted 19 April 2016, Available online 1 May 2016
Abstract
A newly developed system was applied in this study to evaluate the effects of the grip spans (45–80 mm) of combination pliers on the total grip strength, individual finger force, resultant force, and subjective discomfort. A total of twenty-six males participated and were asked to exert their maximum grip strength with two repetitions. The highest and the lowest total grip strength and resultant force (311.8 N and 737.9 N vs. 210.1 N and 501.7 N) were obtained at a 60 mm and 80 mm grip spans, respectively. In general, the participants considered the 50 and 60 mm grip spans as being the least discomfort, whereas the 80 mm grip span was considered as the most discomfort grip span in a maximum grasping task. The results can be utilized as basic data for the manufacturing and design industries of two-handle hand tools, such as pliers and wrenches
Practitioners summary
Custom-made combination pliers were applied in this study to evaluate grip strength, resultant force, and subjective discomfort, relative to five grip spans. The authors expect that the results of the present study will provide valuable information for the designers and users of pliers
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