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A fully automated off-line cartridge filling station has been commissioned to support the new Boeing SAL production cell. The filing station uses automated fastener feed technology that is typically found on the machines themselves. Incorporating this technology off-line in place of the traditional manual handling processes extends the benefits of automation beyond the main manufacturing cell. A single operator is able to keep up with the demand of eight production fastening machines while maintaining the highest levels of accuracy and quality. Additional benefits to this application of automation include reduction of the operators exposure to risks associated with manual handling and repetitive tasks.

The newest generation of automated fastening machines require a feed system that is smaller, more flexible, and faster than any currently available. The feed system must be compact enough to fit on a robot base, yet have a capacity large enough to support unmanned production for hours. A large variety of fasteners must be supported and the entire system must be reloaded or reconfigured in minutes to match the next work piece being assembled by the machine. When requested by the part program, the correct fastener must be released directly and immediately into the feed tube to minimize cycle time. This paper describes a new “plate cartridge” feed system developed to meet these needs.

Electroimpact's E4000 LVER riveting machine entered service in 1998 assembling A320/A321 upper wing panels at the Airbus wing manufacturing facility in Broughton, Wales. Airbus's recent introduction of the Sharklet modification to the wings of the A320 family of aircraft necessitated a number of changes to the machine and fixture to accommodate the revised wing geometry. Electroimpact and Airbus also worked together to identify a wide range of machine improvements and updates. A short list of the changes made to the machine includes a new CNC, new motors, scales, spindles, and new technologies such as laser tracers and normality sensors. The end result is a faster, more accurate machine with state-of-the-art controls ready to support Airbus's A320/321 wing panel assembly for the next 15 years.

An automated machine has been designed with true offset fastening to join shear-tie/frame assemblies to the fuselage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The machine can access fasteners located close to structural components that are very deep. This is accomplished by offsetting the fastening axis from the axis of the head for true offset fastening. The head can be positioned next to the structural component and the offset fastening tooling ‘reaches’ out to the fastener location (Figure 1). By using a true offset, the fastening machine can access fasteners that would be otherwise inaccessible by traditional automated equipment. The machine can also be lighter and more accurate when compared to fastening machines with traditional tooling.

This paper details the Electroimpact Cartridge Feed Auto Select (CFAS) System, the Electroimpact Cartridge Filling Station (CFS) and the implementation of these systems on today&’s factory floors. Problems inherent in handling tens of thousands of fasteners per workpiece have traditionally been an Achilles Heel to many aerospace-manufacturing cells. The CFAS system moves the job of sorting through bulk fasteners to the stand alone offline CFS. With the bulk feeding process offline, problems such as contaminated fastener lots get taken care of before they ever get to a fastening machine. Modular briefcase sized coiled tube magazines store and distribute fasteners to automated riveting and bolting equipment via the CFAS rack. Cartridges captively hold 500 to 3,000 fasteners from 1/8” to 3/8” diameters and are length independent which allow a small number of cartridges to work with a large array of overall fasteners.