Fastening End Effector With Movable Grippers for Fastener Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fastening end effectors used in aircraft assembly with robotics face issues such as inconsistent fastener orientation and potential blockages, which hinder efficient drilling and fastening processes.
Innovation Solution
A fastening end effector design featuring a hammering insertion die and independently movable grippers positioned circumferentially around the die, allowing for precise alignment and insertion of fasteners into structures, while also retracting fasteners to prevent interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If tubes are used to provide fasteners to the end effector, then fasteners can be delivered to the fastening location, but the tubes may become blocked by fasteners and cannot provide fasteners in the same orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The end effector employs a dynamic fastener presentation mechanism where the anvil and gripper fingers can move relative to each other. The gripper fingers are movable along the longitudinal axis, allowing them to present fasteners in a consistent orientation to the tube while accommodating variations in fastener placement and preventing tube blockage
Solution Approach 2:
The anvil serves as an intermediary component between the tube and the fastener. It provides a stable reference surface that, combined with the movable gripper fingers, ensures fasteners are presented in the correct orientation to the tube, preventing blockage while maintaining delivery efficiency
2Ease of manufacture
If dual sided clamp-up is used with robots for drilling and fastening, then aircraft structures can be assembled, but fastener orientation consistency is poor and blockages occur
Solution Approach 1:
The movable gripper fingers allow the end effector to dynamically adjust and precisely present fasteners in a consistent orientation. This dynamic adjustment mechanism ensures that regardless of how the fastener is initially placed in the tube, it can be repositioned to the correct orientation, improving manufacturing precision while maintaining ease of assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positional parameters of the gripper fingers along the longitudinal axis to achieve precise fastener orientation. By controlling the movement distance and position of the gripper fingers, the system can present fasteners at the exact required orientation, resolving the precision issue while maintaining assembly capability
Data Source
AI summary
A fastening end effector is presented. The fastening end effector comprises a hammering insertion die translatable into and out of a housing of the fastening end effector along a longitudinal axis of the fastening end effector; and grippers positioned circumferentially around the hammering insertion die to hold a head of a fastener against the hammering insertion die, the grippers independently moveable relative to the hammering insertion die.