The demand of fulfilling the continually increasing customer requirements challenge suppliers always to improve their system solutions to be state-of-the-art. In case of replacing old, obsolete systems, which at present technically and economically are not any more beneficial for the production of aircraft components, even the latest technology requires to become an integral part of the existing production infrastructure.
To allow the most effective implementation, the new automated systems must be equipped with the flexibility to work and perform perfectly within an existing production environment. For instance, customers require to have the possibility of using the existing NC-part programs as well as using the existing tooling.
The paper is intended to describe the integration of the latest riveting machine technology into an existing production infrastructure by presenting the process with an actual example. Furthermore, it will characterize and focus on the main aspects of the state-of-the-art technology in automated fastening to meet the important customer production requirements and economical criteria.