A clinch-in fastener with a cylindrical body having a top, a bottom, sides and an axial internal bore. The fastener has a single shank at the bottom end of the body having a top surface orthogonal to the bore and a chamfer tapering to the bottom of the body. The top surface of the shank is adapted for receiving the cold flow of material surrounding a receiving hole of a workpiece. The shank may have a plurality of notches in its outermost edge that extend through both the top surface of the shank and the chamfer. The bore of the fastener extends completely through the fastener body from top to bottom and may be threaded. A fastener installation system having a tool with means for affixation to a rotary and vertically reciprocal element of an industrial machine. The tip of the tool has a distal end face with at least one arcuate displacer adapted for deforming a workpiece as the tool rotates and is pressed against the workpiece. A bore within the tip holds a fastener installed by the tool. The displacer is vertically and radially tapered along an arcuate ridge centered about the axial bore. The width of the displacer is also tapered to a point.

A component assembly is described which consists of a component and an element attached to the component and formed as an alignment element. The element has a head part, a component contact surface provided at an end face of the head part and a collar arranged inside the component contact surface and projecting away from it. The collar has a cross-sectional shape which is non-circular. The collar is inserted with clearance into an aperture of the component formed complimentary to the cross-sectional shape of the collar and has outer surfaces which converge in the direction of the said end face of the head part and with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the element and form an acute angle with the latter. The marginal region of the aperture of the component adjacent to the component contact surface extends into recesses formed between the collar and the end face of the head part but does not reach the base of the recesses, with a free space arising which ensures a lateral alignment movement of the element relative to the component. An axial separation of the element from the component is prevented as a result of material overlap of the component material with the collar within the recesses. Elements and methods for manufacture of the component assembly are also claimed.

A method for installation and/or maintenance of a flange connection includes screw connections with a manually movable tool including a screw tensioning structure, a processing unit and a screw identification sensor. The method includes assigning a one-to-one identification to each screw connection of the flange connection, determining a screw connection to be tensioned, positioning the tool on a respective screw connection to be tensioned, identifying the respective screw connection by the screw identification sensor, releasing the screw tensioning structure by the processing unit, and tensioning the respective screw connection by the screw tensioning structure. It is checked whether the tool or the screw tensioning structure is placed correctly on the screw connection. The screw tensioning structure is released when the result of this check is positive and/or the screw tensioning structure is blocked or stopped when the result of this check is negative.

A method for installation and/or maintenance of a flange connection includes screw connections with a manually movable tool including a screw tensioning structure, a processing unit and a screw identification sensor. The method includes assigning a one-to-one identification to each screw connection of the flange connection, determining a screw connection to be tensioned, positioning the tool on a respective screw connection to be tensioned, identifying the respective screw connection by the screw identification sensor, releasing the screw tensioning structure by the processing unit, and tensioning the respective screw connection by the screw tensioning structure. It is checked whether the tool or the screw tensioning structure is placed correctly on the screw connection. The screw tensioning structure is released when the result of this check is positive and/or the screw tensioning structure is blocked or stopped when the result of this check is negative.

The description relates to a joining head for fastening a fastening element by a die to the surface of a component with a gripper that can be linearly displaced in a first displacement direction R.sub.G and a magazine that can be linearly displaced in a second displacement direction R.sub.M . The magazine contains a plurality of fastening elements, with the first displacement direction R.sub.G running transversely to the second displacement direction R.sub.M.

An improved multi-bolt and nut torque wrench for installing and removing bolts or nuts from flanged joints or the like which includes a plurality of torque stations having a plurality of high torque wrenches for engaging the heads of the bolts or nuts during a high torque phase of removal or installation; a plurality of low-torque motors operatively engaged with the wrenches for rotating the bolts or nuts during the low torque phase of removal or installation; a source of hydraulic fluid for driving the low-torque motors during the low-torque phase, and driving the high-torque wrenches during the high torque phase; and a mechanism for switching between the two phases depending on the torque needed.

According to the present invention, an axial force of a screw which is generated by screw driving is estimated. A control part applies a predetermined torque generated by a rotation axis servomotor to a screw in a rotation direction where a screw is driven, and thereafter releases the torque. The control part then estimates an axial force of the driven screw based on fluctuation of a rotation position of the rotation axis servomotor which occurs due to the release of the torque.

In one aspect there is provided a pipe spinner and lifter for supporting and rotating a cylindrical member having a longitudinal axis. The pipe spinner and lifter comprises a pair of jaws that pivot about a pivot member, to allow the pipe spinner and lifter to actuate between an open configuration and a closed configuration. A plurality of rollers are mounted on the jaws, each rotatable about a rolling axis. When the pipe spinner and lifter is in the closed configuration, the cylindrical member can be rotatably captured by the pipe spinner and lifter, allowing the cylindrical member to rotate about its longitudinal axis. Preferably, the plurality of rollers are arranged in a substantially mirrored arrangement on the jaws. More preferably, the rolling axis of each of the rollers is substantially parallel to the cylindrical member's longitudinal axis.

A screwing device includes a screwdriver and a connection element for coupling the screwdriver to a robot arm. The connection element has a first robot-side transmission element, a second tool-side transmission element, a restoring element arranged between the first and second transmission elements, and a distance measuring element. The two transmission elements can be moved towards each other against a restoring force of the restoring element in an actuation direction. The distance measuring element measures a distance that represents the spacing between the transmission elements in the actuation direction and is used to control the actuating force acting on the screwdriver.

A screwing device includes a screwdriver and a connection element for coupling the screwdriver to a robot arm. The connection element has a first robot-side transmission element, a second tool-side transmission element, a restoring element arranged between the first and second transmission elements, and a distance measuring element. The two transmission elements can be moved towards each other against a restoring force of the restoring element in an actuation direction. The distance measuring element measures a distance that represents the spacing between the transmission elements in the actuation direction and is used to control the actuating force acting on the screwdriver.