Assembly - February 2009 - (Page 56) Advertisement Advertisement CASE STUDY Marson tool salvages 800,000 rivets. ATI Tool Changers Give Aerospace Integrator a Competitive Edge “ATI Tool-Side Tool Changer Mounted on the rear of the AFP Applicator Head, ATI Master-Side Tool Changer Mounted to AFP Gantry, and ATI Tool- and Master-Side Tool Changer” customer of Alcoa Fastening Systems working with all aluminum 3/16” diameter open-end blind rivets reported that the mandrel was breaking 1/2” up the mandrel shaft. This left approximately 1” of the mandrel exposed above the eyelet body flange, resulting in a 30% installation failure rate. Following Alcoa’s Q-C lab inspection process, an on-site inspection was scheduled at the customer’s assembly plant. After several more assemblies were completed with observed failures, visual inspection of the spent mandrels revealed the issue: the jaw bite was less than 1/2” down from the mandrel point, indicating that the riveting tool being used was not fully engaging the mandrel. This was causing the tool jaws to break the mandrel prematurely above the rivet head. Commonly referred to as Mandrel pull through (spiking)…yet all rivet and application dimensions were with in spec. After agreeing to try the Marson MP-3V air-driven riveting tool, the customer completed 4 additional assemblies with no failures whatsoever. Subsequently, the customer has been using the Marson MP-3V installation tool with no reported failures to date. The MP-3V was able to salvage 800,000 rivets, and ultimately, realize a significant time and cost savings to the customer. Alcoa Fastening Systems Ron Chike AFS-IDG Industrial Sales Manager Ron.Chike@alcoa.com Office: 800-826-2884 Visit us at www.AFS-IDG.com A T he aerospace manufacturing industry has been revolutionized with the advent of carbon fiber materials. This has led to changes in manufacturing processes and the development of new technology and machinery. Electroimpact is an automation integrator that provides factory automation and tooling solutions to some of the biggest names in the aerospace industry. Their Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) technology is a manufacturing process used for producing complex composite materials. The AFP machine applies carbon tape in several layers which is then heat cured to produce extremely strong and light-weight structures. In an effort to increase the efficiency and productivity of their AFP machines, Electroimpact approached ATI Industrial Automation with a requirement to quickly change the AFP applicator head. Electroimpact chose ATI’s Heavy Automation Tool Changers for their reliability, strength and reputation. Mounted between the AFP gantry and applicator head, ATI’s Tool Changer passes a variety of utilities through attached specialized modules. Kyle Jeffries, Project Engineer with Electroimpact states “ATI’s Tool Changers enable our AFP machine to quickly change heads for offline material loading, cleaning and maintenance with no down time. Multiple material forms can be used on the same part, or on the same machine for the highest possible flexibility in production. Future AFP head innovations can be brought online quickly and easily.” ATI’s Tool Changers are used in many different aerospace applications including material handling, drilling, material removal and other specialized applications. ATI Industrial Automation 1031 Goodworth Drive Apex, NC 27539 Phone: 919-772-0115 Fax: 919-772-8259 Email: info@ati-ia.com Web site: www.ati-ia.com 56 ASSEMBLY / February 2009 www.assemblymag.com http://www.AFS-IDG.com http://www.ati-ia.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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