A manufacturing system employing a bifurcated backbone having an upper plate and lower plate, with a longitudinal slot between the upper and lower plate. A plurality of actuator groups are mounted longitudinally adjacent the slot. A carrier supports a panel for longitudinal translation into the slot and the carrier is configured to pulse longitudinally in the slot relative to the plurality of actuator groups during a sequence of fabrication operations by the plurality of actuator groups on the panel.

A system and method for drilling a hole in a vehicle structure and installing a fastener in the hole. A drill plate having openings and associated machine-readable elements is positioned on the structure. A drill gun is positioned in a particular opening and reads hole information from the associated element, and a computer determines whether the drill gun is properly set-up to drill the hole. A fastener insertion gun is positioned in the particular opening and reads fastener information from the element, and the computer determines whether the hole has been drilled and, if so, whether the fastener insertion gun is properly set-up to insert the fastener. A fastener delivery subsystem stores, tracks, and delivers fasteners to the fastener insertion gun. A system computer monitors the drilling of every hole, the insertion of every fastener, and the overall operation of the fastener delivery subsystem.

To simplify the structure of a holding fixture which holds the shape of the aircraft panel and conveys the aircraft panel, an object is to ensure shape accuracy required in the manufacturing process and hold an aircraft panel in an appropriate shape, in combination with a holding fixture. A shape holding fixture includes: a plurality of support units configured to be positioned on a lower surface side of an aircraft panel, and provided at intervals along a one-axis direction, the aircraft panel being held by a holding fixture configured to grip an edge portion of the aircraft panel; and a shape holding unit provided to each of the plurality of support units, including a rod which supports the aircraft panel from the lower surface side of the aircraft panel, and configured to adjust a position where the rod comes into contact with the aircraft panel to support the aircraft panel, corresponding to the shape of the aircraft panel.

Systems and methods are provided for inspecting installation of a fastener. One method includes monitoring hydraulic pressure of a tool that is installing the fastener, detecting that the hydraulic pressure has dropped by more than a threshold amount within a period of time, determining that a pintail of the fastener has snapped in response to the detecting, and reducing the hydraulic pressure in response to the determining.

Described herein are methods and manufacturing systems that select fasteners for pre-feeding and, in some examples, pre-feed the selected fasteners. These methods involve aggregating historical manufacturing data, comprising hole identifications and fastener grip lengths, previously selected for these hole identifications. A specific grip length and a corresponding fastener repeatability rating are then determined for each hole identification from this historical manufacturing data. For example, a specific grip length corresponds to the most frequently selected grip length for this hole identification. In some examples, the historical manufacturing data is analyzed using machine learning. The fastener repeatability rating is compared to an operating threshold, in some examples, to determine if the corresponding grip length should be selected for a particular hole location. This grip length selection is then used for pre-feeding a corresponding fastener into an automated drilling machine, thereby saving significant processing time relative to conventional processes.

A device for inserting the blind fastener in the fastening site, a pulling and extracting device for swaging the blind fastener in the fastening site and a passive compliance device that binds the inserting device to the pulling and extracting device. The passive compliance device allows the installation of the bind fastener without sensors.

A method for assembling a fuselage section which comprises producing a lower part of the section from at least two panels and an upper part of the section from at least two panels, then assembling the lower and upper parts so as to obtain the fuselage section. A lower or upper mounting support, a gear and a production unit are used in the method.

A tool for installing a blind fastener. The tool includes a retention member and a gripping member that defines a longitudinal axis and is moveable relative to the retention member along the longitudinal axis, the gripping member further defining a receiving cavity that is elongated along the longitudinal axis, an axial opening into the receiving cavity, and a radial opening into the receiving cavity. The tool also includes a contact element at least partially received in the radial opening and a locking collar moveable relative to the gripping member along the longitudinal axis between at least a first position and a second position. In the first position the locking collar engages the contact element and urges at least a portion of the contact element into the receiving cavity. In the second position the locking collar is disengaged from the contact element.

The device for controlling a fastening device causes an operation unit of the fastening device to execute a fastening operation step for performing a fastening operation on processing points that correspond to reference positions, the reference positions being respectively provided so as to correspond to the processing points and being provided in advance at positions such that, in consideration of a framework structure after the fastening operation is performed, interference with the framework structure does not occur. When an abnormality is detected or when information pertaining to interruption of the fastening operation is inputted, the control device causes the operation unit to move, on a path along reference positions corresponding to not-yet-processed processing points, to a reference position corresponding to a processing point that is at the end of the fastening operation range without executing the fastening operation step on not-yet-processed processing points.

The disclosure relates to a method for screwing a locking ring onto a threaded bolt, wherein a coupling device for being threaded into the threaded bolt is driven in rotation by a rotary drive, and wherein the locking ring is then screwed onto the threaded bolt, which is fixed by the coupling device, by a locking ring holder which is driven in rotation by the rotary drive. The disclosure likewise relates to a method for screwing a locking ring comprising a fastening part and a tear-off part onto a threaded bolt, wherein a removal gripper grips the tear-off part and removes the tear-off part after the tear-off part has been torn off. The disclosure further relates to a screwing apparatus for executing a method according to the disclosure.