After nearly three years of research and development, Atlas Copco Group’s new mechanical MTRwrench was launched in March 2025. Equipped with assisted tightening, smart connectivity, robustness and user comfort, this innovative tool has quickly become a tool-of-choice in many global Motor Vehicle Industry and General Industry production lines.
“We started already in 2022 by looking at the weaker points of the previous generation wrench,” says Giorgio Bonato, Project Manager R&D in the team behind the MTRwrench (where MTR stands for MechaTRonic).
“The older model had been on the market for 15 years and was a trusted and appreciated tool for tightening procedures on assembly lines. At the same time, feedback from our customers gave us valuable insights into where we could take the next step forward, enhancing robustness, extending communication range and improving battery life.”
Improving all weak points
The goal was to raise overall performance while making the tool even more ergonomic and user-friendly. A cross-functional team came together, bringing expertise from mechanics, electronics, industrial design and UX in an iterative approach that aimed to address and improve each weak point.
In line with the thoroughness that underpinned the whole development process, the MTRwrench was also tested by customers in various parts of the world.
“We had prototypes out in the field that were being tested in customer applications to check we were going about it the right way,” Giorgio explains.
A perfect blend
This resulted in a hybrid design that blends a mechanical wrench with advanced electronics. The features include a communication range that is four times stronger than its older counterpart, twice as long battery life, and a new level of robustness for tough environments.
LED guidance and improved click feedback tells the operator when the wrench has reached the optimal tightening torque. The tool also has increased memory and traceability for quality control, and the use of recycled plastic adds a welcome sustainability dimension.
The greater accuracy and reliability in the tightening process improves productivity for manufacturers, while the ergonomic design with a handle that guides the user to the right handling reduces fatigue and thus the amount of tightening errors for the operators. Better quality control is of course good news for the safety of the end-users of the cars or other industrial products that are made.
Image captions: The MTRwrench hybrid design blends mechanics with advanced electronics and brings a new level of precision and robustness for industrial assembly applications. Advanced LED guidance and improved click feedback to the operator provides greater accuracy in the tightening process, which improves both productivity, safety and ergonomics.
Recognized for excellence
The MTRwrench is built to last and with its charging cradle and remote power bank plus advanced electronics it will be adaptable to new technologies as they arrive.
It’s no wonder that Giorgio Bonato says that the tool has received very positive customer feedback so far. “Customers recognize the robustness, improved communication and stability as being major steps forward,” he explains.
There was also wider recognition when the MTRwrench won a prestigious Red Dot Design Award, which Giorgio feels is validation of both the design excellence and Atlas Copco Group’s collaborative and customer-centric innovation process.
“It was a joint effort, bringing together a team with a wide range of expertise where each person was fully dedicated to bringing this new product to life. The result has been a truly remarkable success,” says Giorgio.
