A local startup that invented a tool adapter designed to mimic an otherwise costly torque wrench when attached to a drill won first place out of six student-led businesses competed during the University of Texas at San Antonio this week.
The company dubbed EZ-Torque was co-founded by Tyler Bailey from the university’s school of engineering and Lance Kimbro, a business school student. The team won $2,000 in cash and $46,000 worth of services from the UTSA Center for Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurship $100k competition. Some of those services include office space for one year at either Geekdom downtown or the San Antonio Technology Center.
Bailey said he’s worked as an aviation mechanic for nearly a decade and is scheduled to graduate with a masters degree in mechanical engineering within the next year. In the airplane industry some bolts are tightened, or torqued by hand. Mechanics often work in a noisy environment so when a manual torque wrench clicks to signal the completion of the job, sometimes it is difficult to hear.
“Right now technicians can spend 10 hours manually torquing fasteners. We invented a device that can do it quicker and more efficient," Bailey said. “If they are torquing some low range fasteners they can hold it like a screw driver, and for high range can put a lever on the end. But if they need to attach thousands of fasteners, they can attach it to the end of a rotary drill.”
Bailey said the company has two prototypes fabricated to date and the startup is soliciting bids for a manufacturer. While the aviation industry was the inspiration for the device, there are possible opportunities in the automotive sector too, he said. In the near term the company is seeking to raise $300,000 from investors.
The goal is to secure a U.S. patent and possibly international patents for the invention and begin mass production.
Another student-run startup dubbed Therm-moist Therapy that designed an air-filled compression sleeve geared towards Cerebral Palsy patients won second place. Synched-In, a mobile application created to keep students on track with coursework took third place.