The staircase manufacturer uses a custom four-head hydraulic riveting machine that can simultaneously install four 0.1875-inch diameter rivets.
Orbital forming of rivets or large diameter tubular parts sometimes requires special units with three-roller heads instead of hammer heads.
In late 2013, a solar panel manufacturer installed two custom GB8000 automatic feeders to speed up production of panel frames. The device automatically feeds rivets into the riveting tool.
The M-500 pneumatic power head is integrated into a fully automated orbital riveting system.
The heart of the production area is the HPP25 process controller, which ensures stable riveting even if the rivets have different hardnesses.
During World War II, Rosie the Riveter did more than just inspire American women to join the workforce to support the war effort. She also taught the nation about the importance of hand riveting in creating a strong army and winning World War II. Today, manufacturers such as Airbus also recognize the importance of semi- and fully automatic riveting for producing quality products and optimizing production.
Since 1997, Airbus has produced wing panels for the A320 family of aircraft at its assembly plant in Broughton, UK. The panels are assembled in work cells using low-voltage electromagnetic riveting machines (LVER).
Each work cell consists of a machine and two wing attachments. The machine, installs long-head rivets, stump-type locking bolts, lightweight grooved collars (LGP) and temporary flat-head bolts on the top surface of wing panels. The machine has separate mounting heads for the skin and stringer sides of the wing panels, oriented vertically in the clamps.
At the start of the process, the clamping heads clamp the panel assembly with up to 2,000 pounds of force to prevent component separation and burrs at the interface. The shuttle table then uses a spindle to drill holes for the rivets and feed the rivets through the pipe into the electromagnetic rivet machine.
The shuttle inserts the rivet into the hole and measures its protrusion. If not, remove the rivets. If everything is correct, the rivet is formed on the riveting machine and the shuttle table mills the rivet head to the desired height (flush to +0.002 inch). Finally, the fastener head is released and the machine moves to the next fastener position.
For Airbus and other aerospace companies, machines like the LVER are vital. However, non-aerospace manufacturers can reap the benefits of semi- or fully automated riveting without making such a large investment in equipment. Whether installing pop rivets in kitchenware or solid rivets in furniture components, assemblers have many options to automate the process.
The automotive and aerospace industries are among the first to adopt automated riveting technology.
The machine has long been used by manufacturers in the aerospace and automotive industries.
“The basic operations haven’t changed much in more than 70 years,” Cyr noted. “The operator loads the assembled parts and starts the machine by pressing a button or foot switch. Riveting takes only a third of a second, and the worker can remove the finished part.”
From the mid-1940s to the late 1960s, the use of semi-automatic riveting in the automotive industry remained minimal, primarily for door hinges and latches. This number increased in the early 1970s when robots entered factories to keep up with production. However, its real growth phase, including the use of fully automated riveting, began in the mid-1980s.
About 30 years later, automakers used semi- or fully automated riveting to assemble seat components, brake pads and linings, door hinges, and floor and hood latches. More complex items include transmission brackets, door and hood releases (attach release cables to strike plate), torque converters and ball studs (attach ball studs to strike plate).
“The huge boom in the auto industry in the mid-1990s really required them to automate their riveting processes,” Often the riveting of simple parts such as lighters can be fully automated. . More specialized components, such as seat mechanisms and door latch mechanisms, are more complex for fully automated riveting. Many of these parts move on conveyors or indexers, riveting is performed at one station, and assembly operations are often performed at other stations. “
In the early 1990s, automated riveting began to dominate the aerospace industry.
Post time: Sep-27-2024
