An automated machine has been designed with true offset fastening to
join shear-tie/frame assemblies to the fuselage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The machine can access fasteners located close to structural components that
are very deep. This is accomplished by offsetting the fastening axis from the
axis of the head for true offset fastening. The head can be positioned next to
the structural component and the offset fastening tooling 'reaches' out to the
fastener location.
By using a true offset, the fastening machine can access fasteners that would
be otherwise inaccessible by traditional automated equipment. The machine can
also be lighter and more accurate when compared to fastening machines with
traditional tooling. The E5000 is capable of automatically feeding and installing both
HY and CT fasteners.
The cell was qualified for production December 2007
and has been used on every production barrel to date.
Over 10000 fasteners have been installed in production
barrels as of June 2007. Cycle times were recorded in
production as being 11.25-11.5 seconds per cycle of
typical and spacing. Floor to floor rates expected
around 3 fasteners per minute. The floor to floor rate
includes barrel loading, rotations and resynching. An
ATC allows for offline setting of the drill countersink
since drill wear on CFRP can be so high.