This paper describes a Robotic Cell, constructed and integrated in the McDonnell Aircraft Robotics Lab, for the purpose of demonstrating “freehand” (unstabilized) drilling and blind fastener installation. The cell operates without the use of hard tooling for end effector stabilization.
The cell incorporates a jointed arm robot, a computer controlled drill and countersink end effector, an automatic fastener installation end effector, an automatic head shaving end effector, quick change equipment, and a programmable logic controller.
The drill/countersink end effector provides high quality holes and countersinks utilizing a conventional industrial robot without the aid of hard tooling. It can be programmed with multiple feeds and speeds, automatically control chip load and cage force, and has the ability to detect broken bits.
The fastener installation end effector employed is capable of installing self locking threaded blind fasteners (blind bolts) of multiple sizes and grip lengths. This end effector is currently configured with a servo driven fastener storage magazine that allows several sizes of fasteners to be installed without the use of feeder bowls.
The head shaving end effector utilizes a modification of a commercially available manual shaving tool, and has programmable feed rates and stroke depths.
The integration of this cell is a first step in implementing low cost non-riveting assembly processes for both composite and metal structures.