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Previously given Paper 09ATC-0232 delivered at the SAE Aerotech conference in Seattle in 2009 reports on the E6000 machine installing slug rivets with the EMR. Paper 2015-01-2491given at the SAE conference in Seattle in 2015 reports on index head rivets being installed with screw driven squeeze process. This paper reports on the screw driven squeeze process installing unheaded slug rivet which is a more complex process. We also report on improvements to the fixture automation.

This paper will cover the design of the horizontal rivet injector use on the SA2 LVER designated for stage 0 production of Airbus A320 Upper Wing Panels. The injector design is intended to decrease cycle times and increase reliability while not reducing the functionality over previous rivet feed designs used by Electroimpact. Specific rivet handling methods and design features will be reviewed and their result on cycle time and reliability discussed.

A new method of installing LGP collars onto titanium lock bolts has been brought into production in the Airbus wing manufacturing facility in Broughton, Wales. The feed system involves transporting the collar down a rectangular cross-sectioned hose, through a rectangular pathway in the machine clamp anvil to the swage die without the use of fingers or grippers. This method allows the reliable feeding the collars without needing to adjust the position of feed fingers or grippers relative to the tool centerline. Also, more than one fastener diameter can be fed through one anvil geometry, requiring only a die change to switch between certain fastener diameters. In our application, offset and straight stringer geometries are accommodated by the same anvil.

British Aerospace needed an automated wing riveting system for fastening the A320 wing sections. The E4000 Wing Riveting System was designed and installed at their Airbus factory in Chester, UK and is now in production. It uses a five axis solid yoke with workheads on each end of the yoke. It accurately installs both rivets and lockbolts over the entire wing panel, including offset areas.

Due to the part size and technological limitations of the available assembly equipment, traditional wing manufacturing has consisted of a three stage process. Parts are first manually tacked together in an assembly jig, They are then removed from the jig, rotated horizontally and craned into an automated fastening machine. Finally they are removed from the fastening machines and craned to a third station where the manual tacks are removed and the parts are prepped for final wing box assembly. With the advent of electromagnetic riveting (EMR) and the traveling yoke assembly machine this traditional approach has been replaced with single station processing. Wing panels and spars can now be automatically tacked together under continuous clamp up in their assembly jigs using EMR. This eliminates the requirement for disassembly, debur and cleaning required with the manual process.

Northrop Corporation manufactures body panels for the Boeing 747 aircraft. There are 1259 different stringer configurations used on the three 747 models with an average of 839 stringers per ship set. Until recently, all drain holes and skin coordination pilot holes were drilled manually using plastic application template tools (PATTS). Inventory costs were high and manual drilling errors led to excessive scrap and rework rates. Northrop engineers recognized that automating the stringer drilling process would produce higher quality parts at a lower cost. Northrop worked with Electroimpact, Inc. to develop the Automatic Stringer Drilling System (ASDS). The ASDS automatically clamps and drills all straight and contoured stringers used on the 747. Stringers are mounted on a rotating platform that provides +/- 90° of motion. Two servo-servo drills are mounted on a cantilevered arm with 25 feet of X-axis travel.

For seven years Electroimpact, Inc. has been providing manufacturing equipment to the aerospace assembly business. Our industry is not partial toward working with small companies such as Electroimpact. But we fill a niche. The niche which we fill is in the area of new processes. We have developed new processes which have made inroads into the industry. This paper will review a number of case studies for the implementation of new manufacturing technology in the aerospace industry. In all of these cases motivation for the implementation of new technology is the driving force and concurrent engineering is the vehicle for successful implementation. Although this review is only cursory it can provide a reference to help you make further inquiries.

New EMR technologies have been developed in response to customer demand for better process control and reliability. In hand riveting of large panels visual contact between operators is blocked. A reliable means was required to insure that guns could only discharge when properly deployed upon opposing ends of the rivet. A second problem is to satisfy the demand for improved process control in EMR operation. These goals were achieved by implementing a fully digital control scheme for the EMR operation. These new technologies are covered in this paper.