One of Electroimpact’s major programs in 1995 was the design and manufacture of an Automatic
Spar Assembly Tool, known as ASAT3. This third generation system builds the wing spars of all Boeing
737 NG variants. Electroimpact teamed up with Henri Line-Machine Tools (Granby, Quebec Canada)
and Nova-Tech Engineering to build and install a total of 6 lines including 10 machines and 12
fixtures. The latest additions, ASAT3 Phase 5 machines #9 and #10, were put into production
March of 2012 in order to support the rate of 38 planes a month.
The overall length of each ASAT 3 FAJ is 84 feet and the width is 5 feet. Each of the 6 foundations
for the system is 220 feet long by 26 feet wide. The system accommodates NG737/757 front and rear
spars. Major axis include 40 inches of Y travel, 24 inches of Z travel, +/- 15 degrees in B
travel, and 16 inches of U and V clamp axis travel.
ASAT3 machines are capable of installing Lock bolt and Hi-lok Bolt diameters from to 3/16” to 3/8”.
They can also install slug rivet diameters of 3/16” to 3/8”.
The machine probes the spar to measure spar growth throughout the fastening process. Once the
fastening is complete, the machine can run a routine and cross over to an adjacent fixture to
start another spar build.