ROBOTIC APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF COLLARS AND NUTS ONTO FASTENERS
Apparatus and process for the installation of collars and/or nuts on fasteners, particularly in the aerospace industry. The apparatus includes an industrial base robot supporting a mounting base carrying a gimbal and rotary drive for a lightweight sensing robot with a fastening/torque tool. The sensing robot operates to align and position a spin preventing projection such as a hex key in a fastener end and a rotatable socket to torque a nut or collar onto the fastener held against rotation. The related process is accomplished by sensors in conjunction with the sensing robot aligning the hex key with a recess in the fastener end, inserting the key into the fastener to hold it against rotation, and spinning a nut or collar onto the fastener. A wrenching component is sheared from the nut and removed after the nut or torque is applied.
1 . Automated robotic apparatus for aligning and assembling together fastener and nut components and including:
a first robot;
a second robot;
said second robot carried and manipulated by said first robot;
a fastening torque tool carried by said second robot and including a nut driving socket and a fastener spin preventing element;
said tool adapted for carrying a nut for aligning with, then threading onto said fastener, after said aligning;
said fastener spin preventing element engageable with said fastener to prevent it from spinning when a nut is threaded thereon.
2 . Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said second robot is a sensing robot.
3 . Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said first robot includes a mounting plate and said second robot is mounted on said mounting plate.
4 . Apparatus as in claim 3 further including a clamping foot on said mounting plate for engaging against a workpiece.
5 . Apparatus as in claim 3 including a rotary drive and gimbal mount mounted on said mounting plate and operably connected to said second robot.
6 . Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said socket is configured to receive a two-part nut having a threaded portion for threading onto a fastener and a second portion for driving engagement by said socket.
7 . Apparatus as in claim 6 wherein said second portion is shearable from said threaded portion when said threaded portion is turned onto a fastener.
8 . Apparatus as in claim 1 for use with a fastener having a head, a shank and a threaded portion, said fastener having an internal bore for receiving a pin having complimentary exterior surface for engaging said fastener bore and preventing said fastener from turning.
9 . Apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said nut is moveable in an axial direction with respect to said pin having said complimentary exterior surface when said nut is threaded onto said fastener.
10 . A two-part nut for threading onto a fastener in an automated assembly process wherein a first part of said nut is threadable for engagement with said fastener, and wherein a second part of said nut is shearable from said first part.
11 . A nut as in claim 10 wherein said second part thereof is positively engageable with a driving socket for turning and wherein said first part is rotatable with respect to said driving socket.
12 . In combination, a threaded fastener, and a nut threadable thereon, and a spin preventing
element engageable with said fastener,
said fastener having a bore therein,
said bore having internal surfaces,
said spin preventing element comprising a projection insertable into said bore and preventing fastener rotation when in said bore.
13 . A process for assembling a nut to a fastener extending through a workpiece including the steps of:
aligning a spin-preventing element with said fastener with a sensing robot;
advancing both said nut and spin retaining element toward said fastener;
engaging a spin retaining element with said fastener to prevent fastener spinning;
threading said nut onto said fastener; and
torquing said nut against a workpiece;
14 . A process as in claim 13 further including:
shearing off a portion of said nut; and
withdrawing said sheared off portion and said spin retaining element from said fastener.
15 . A process as in claim 13 including sensing torque of turning said nut onto said fastener.