Offset Collar Positioning for Angled Aircraft Fastener Holes
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in aircraft manufacturing is the inefficiency and inaccuracy in automating the installation of fastener systems, particularly in areas with overhangs and non-normal hole orientations, which limits the effectiveness of current fastener installation systems and requires human intervention or increased time.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a platform with an offset collar installer, sensor system, and controller to position and align collars with holes on an inner mold line side before pin insertion, applying force to engage the collar with the pin, ensuring accurate and automated fastener installation even under overhangs and angled conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automated equipment is used to install fastener systems, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to lateral deviation from non-normal hole orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The collar is positioned on the structure before the pin is inserted through the hole. This preliminary positioning allows the collar to be placed in the correct location even when the hole is at an angle, and the pin is then inserted through both the hole and collar simultaneously, eliminating the need for post-positioning adjustments and ensuring accurate alignment despite non-normal hole orientations
Solution Approach 2:
The collar serves as an intermediary component that is first positioned on the structure and then engaged by the pin. This intermediary approach allows the system to accommodate non-normal hole orientations by decoupling the collar positioning from the pin insertion, enabling automated equipment to achieve both speed and precision
2Productivity
If automated equipment is used to install fastener systems in areas with overhangs, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases due to space constraints
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of inserting the pin first and then positioning the collar (the conventional approach), the invention inverts the sequence by positioning the collar first and then inserting the pin through both components. This inversion simplifies the equipment needed for automated installation in constrained spaces like overhangs, as the collar can be placed without requiring complex positioning mechanisms after pin insertion
3Manufacturing precision
If manual operation is used to compensate for lateral deviation, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The collar is positioned in advance before pin insertion, allowing automated equipment to place the collar accurately using pre-calculated positions. This preliminary positioning eliminates the need for manual adjustment after pin insertion, maintaining high precision while enabling automated operation and improving productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensor data to identify hole locations and orientations, then the controller uses this feedback information to calculate and adjust the collar position to compensate for lateral deviation. This closed-loop feedback approach enables automated equipment to achieve the precision previously requiring manual intervention while maintaining high installation speed
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for installing a fastener system. A collar in the fastener system is automatically positioned on a hole on a first side of a structure prior to an insertion of a pin in the fastener system into the hole from a second side of the structure in which the pin has a pin tail. The pin with the pin tail is inserted through the collar in which the pin extends through the hole and the collar. A force is applied on at least one of the collar or the pin tail along a centerline extending centrally though the collar until the pin tail becomes separated from the pin such that the collar engages an engagement feature on the pin when the pin with pin tail is inserted into the hole from the second side.