Abstract: A rivet orientation device includes a horizontally extending track into which fed rivets drop. If the rivet is properly oriented, it will seat properly within the track and be pushed, by a plunger, to a robotic member pick-up point. However, if the rivet has been incorrectly oriented within the track, it will be subjected to compressed air thereby causing tumbling of the rivet and encouraging its proper orientation within the track. Once re-oriented a plunger guides the correctly seated rivet along the track to the pick-up point.

Abstract: A drill tool is mounted to a robotic arm and is capable of operating in limited access space. The drill is driven by a motor shaft capable of exhibiting simultaneous linear and rotational motion. A right angle drill head is slidably mounted to a support and is driven by the motor shaft so that the drill bit moves toward a work piece while it rotates. A cylinder-driven clamp has its jaws coaxially aligned with a drill bit and is capable of clamping several pieces together, the latter constituting a work piece. One of the clamp jaws has a bushing which serves as both a drill guide and a clamp jaw.

Abstract: A riveting tool incorporates both rivet grasping and rivet driving means in a single tool. A resilient rivet retaining skirt is mounted to the driving means and the skirt interior is provided with pressure to ensure retention of the rivet. After the rivet is partially inserted into a hole, a driving surface of the tool forces the rivet out of engagement with the skirt for full insertion into the hole and riveting may then be completed.

Abstract: An elongated break-away rivet includes a main body and a tapered extension joined along a break-away plane. The elongated rivet minimizes rivet tumble along a delivery path which terminates at a work piece. At the end of the path, a tool impacts against the extension thereby causing it to break away and leaving a finished rivet of length appropriate for the work piece.

Abstract: A vacuum part handling device, attached to a robot, serially picks up magazine-loaded brackets and passes them over a double-sided adhesive tape applicator. A strip of tape is secured to a bracket flange and the robot moves the vacuum-held bracket to a final location. The handling device urges the taped flange against a structural member where it is temporarily attached at a precise position enabling accurate automatic insertion of fasteners.

Abstract: A translaminar stitching module is disclosed for stitching complex airframe details comprised of composite materials. The stitching module is self-digitizing, microprocessor controlled, and has six degrees of motion which allow the module to stitch along straight, bowed, twisted and highly contoured paths. During the stitching operation positioning is controlled by a microprocessor by controlling movement along five of the module's six axes through the use of encoder feedback. Upon receipt of the encoded data a microprocessor interpolates between selected coordinate point inputs and inserts the required stitch pitch for proper movement along the stitching path.