Abstract:
An assembly line for continuously manufacturing fasteners from a rod with a groove for receiving a wire for retaining the fasteners in a strip includes a receiver for receiving the rod. A die press is arranged to receive the rod from the receiver and includes a piercing member for piercing an aperture in each fastener and a cutting member for cutting each fastener from the rod. A tapping member provides ribs to an inner wall of the aperture formed in the fastener by the piercing member. An inspector inspects the internal rib formed into the inner wall of the aperture disposed in the fastener verifying exactness of the aperture and the rib. A wire inserter inserts the wire into the groove forming a strip of connected fasteners. The inserter receives the fasteners sequentially from the inspector after verification of the exactness of the aperture disposed in each fastener.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention is generally toward an approved method and apparatus of manufacturing fasteners. More specifically, the present invention is rated toward a method and apparatus of manufacturing fasteners in a continuous manner providing a strip of fasteners, which may be rolled into a coil for use at an installation site.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Various methods of manufacturing fasteners, such as, for example, pierce nuts and the like have been used in the past and have provided satisfactory results enabling production of these types of fasteners in high volumes. End users of these pierce nuts have preferred using a continuous strip of pierce nuts connected side to side with a wire such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,860, for Fastener Strip.  
         [0003]     The installation of the pierce nuts is greatly simplified when provided to an end user in a continuous strip wound in a coil, which eliminates the need for expensive bowl mixers and alignment devices used to align these fasteners prior to production installation into a panel. A common process for providing coils of nuts attached in a strip, such as described above, includes a combination of batch and inline process which is presently utilized.  
         [0004]     For example, a coil of steel rod is provided to a nut manufacturing facility, and is preferably, formed to provide a cross-sectional geometric shape necessary to pierce, and/or clinch, sheet metal, and to provide a groove to receive the wire in a manner set forth above. This rod is processed through a die that both cuts individual pierce nuts and pierces an aperture through the rod forming an inner annular surface in each individual fastener. A tapping machine is positioned subsequent to the die press to provide a helical rib around the inner annular wall of the pierced aperture of each pierce fastener. These fasteners are subsequently placed into a bulk bowl feeder that aligns a plurality of the fasteners in an orientation necessary for continued processing. Various problems are associated with the above-mentioned process. For example, during the cutting stage of the die press, various grooves, and more specifically, the groove designated to receive the attachment wire is known to be deformed making it difficult to insert the wire into the wire groove in a uniform manner. Furthermore, defects associated with location and dimension of the nut apertures and vehicle groove have not yet been identified.  
         [0005]     Once the nuts have been oriented in a uniform fashion, the nuts are transferred via a track to a wire insertion and knurling operation to attach the nuts in a continuous strip. A second press or an equivalent roller inserts the wire into the aligned wire groove of each nut and a knurling machine deforms the nut over the wire for retaining the wire in the aligned groove thereby forming the continuous strip of fasteners. Subsequently, the fasteners are rolled in a coil for shipment and for use at a production facility that installs pierce fasteners as is known to those of skill in the art.  
         [0006]     A further problem associated with the prior art method is realized when an error occurs during the tapping or piercing process resulting in the defective formation of the aperture or helical rib disposed upon the inner surface of the aperture. Once the fasteners have been attached in a strip, it is impossible to replace a defective fastener without breaking the continuous strip resulting in a partial coil of fasteners that is undesirable to the end user. Therefore, a nearly full coil of fasteners is frequently viewed by the end user as being undesirable when a single defective fastener is discovered after the fasteners have been attached in a continuous strip. Furthermore, the smaller strip of fasteners that are separated from the nearly full coil of fasteners is generally scrapped.  
         [0007]     A still further problem exists with the present state of the art relating back processing that reduces the throughput of fasteners through the manufacturing process. It is known to those of skill in the art that orienting nuts in a bowl feeder is a bottleneck in the manufacturing process that reduces the rate at which fasteners are manufactured resulting in a more expensive fastener. It would be desirable to eliminate the bowl feeder from the manufacturing process. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide a continuous manufacturing process that solves the problems associated with the prior art method of manufacturing by eliminating defective nuts found in a continuous strip, eliminate the batch process of manufacturing, and providing a consistent, continuous groove formed by adjacent nuts in a strip.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention provides an assembly for continuously manufacturing fasteners from a rod defining a continuous groove by receiving a wire to retain the resultant fasteners in a continuous strip. A receiver receives the rod and directs the rod into a die press that is arranged to receive the rod from the receiver. The die press includes a piercing member for piercing an aperture of each resultant fastener and a cutting member for cutting each of these fasteners from the rod received by the die press. A tapping member taps the aperture defined by each fastener providing a helical rib to an inner wall that defines the aperture. An inspection station inspects the aperture and the helical rib formed in the inner wall of the aperture to verify the exactness of the aperture and the helical rib. A wire insertion device inserts the wire into the groove of each fastener forming a continuous strip of fasteners. The insertion device receives the fasteners from the inspection station after the exactness of the aperture and the helical rib of each fastener has been verified. The inspection station is located prior to mating each individual fastener into a continuous fastener strip with the wire. This provides a solution to the manufacturing problem set forth above which resulting in incomplete strips of fasteners that are typically rejected by the end user. Furthermore, improvements associated with the inspection station, which heretofore have not been utilized, provides the use of two inspectors enabling the inspection of both major and minor diameters of the helical rib disposed on the inner wall of the aperture and the centrality of the aperture itself. Prior art inspection stations merely determine the existence of an aperture in an individual fastener and are not capable of determining the quality of the helical rib disposed within the aperture.  
         [0009]     Pilot lines used to determine the effectiveness of, more specifically, the inspection station set forth above, have reduced the number of defective fasteners affixed to the continuous strip to nearly zero per thousand fasteners from upward of dozen per thousand fasteners.  
         [0010]     A still further improvement over the prior art wire installation assemblies makes use of a re-groover to reform the continuous groove formed by adjacent nuts into which a carrier wire is inserted. In the cutting station of the die press, the continuous groove formed in the rod is known to be deformed by the die press resulting in an inconsistent installation of the wire by the wire insertion device. This inconsistent installation of the wire along the continuous groove formed by adjacent fasteners is known to result in broken wire at the end user causing a manufacturing defect in the tooling used to affix the fasteners to a product. By reforming the groove, a consistent, continuous groove is formed between adjacent fasteners enabling the uniform installation of the carrier wire further enabling a uniform knurling affixation of the wire eliminating defects associated with the inconsistent affixation set forth above. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     Other advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  shows a top view of a schematic of the present inventive assembly;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  shows a side view of a schematic of the present inventive assembly;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2A  shows an expanded side view of a partial schematic beginning with the transfer;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  shows a side sectional view of the inventive die press of the present invention in an actuated position;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3A  shows an alternate embodiment of the inventive assembly having a rapid tapper incorporated into the die press.  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  shows a side sectional view of the inventive die press of the present invention in a partial actuated position;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  shows a side sectional view of the inventive die press of the present invention in an open position;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  shows a side view of the tapper of present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6A  shows an inspector used in the present inventive assembly;  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  shows a side view of the transfer of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 8  shows rear sectional view of the transfer;  
         [0023]      FIG. 9  shows a front partial sectional view of the inventive regroover;  
         [0024]      FIG. 10  shows a front view of the force producer in a closed position;  
         [0025]      FIG. 11  shows a front view of the force producer in an open position;  
         [0026]      FIG. 12  shows a top view of the inventive wire inserter;  
         [0027]      FIG. 13  is a side view of the inventive wire inserter;  
         [0028]      FIG. 14  is a front sectional view of the upper and lower inserter roller;  
         [0029]      FIG. 15  is a front sectional view of the upper and lower knurler roller;  
         [0030]      FIG. 16  is a front partial sectional view of the cutter;  
         [0031]      FIG. 17  is a side view of the cutter, counter, and flying bridge of the present invention;  
         [0032]      FIG. 18  is a side view of the flying bridge in lowered position for ejecting the test strip;  
         [0033]      FIG. 19  is a rear view of the first and second spool;  
         [0034]      FIG. 20  is a top view of the wire inserter, knurler, cutter, counter, flying bridge, and first and second spool;  
         [0035]      FIG. 21  is an alternative embodiment of the continuous track; and  
         [0036]      FIG. 22  is a further alternative embodiment of the continuous tract. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0037]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , one preferred embodiment of the inventive assembly for manufacturing fasteners is generally shown at  10 . The assembly  10  provides a method of continuously manufacturing, for example, pierce nuts  12  ( FIG. 3 ) from a coiled rod  14  resulting in a continuous strip  16  of fasteners (fastener strip, see  FIGS. 17 and 18 ) for use in a production facility where pierce nuts  12  are mechanically locked to sheet metal at a high rate of speed.  
         [0038]     Preferably, the rod  14  has been preformed with at least one, and more preferably two wire grooves  18  and at least one, and preferably opposing re-entrant grooves  20  as is best represented by the cross-sectional view of the pierce nut  12  shown in  FIG. 8 , the purpose of which will be more evident and explained further below. In the preferred embodiment, a die press  22  receives the rod  14  to pierce and cut individual pierce nuts  12 . The individual pierce nuts  12  are transferred from the die press  22  through a continuous track  24  in an abutting relationship so that the wire groove  18  of each individual pierce nut  12  defines a “continuous” wire groove between adjacent pierce nuts  12 , the purpose of which will be more evident further below. The continuous track  24  transfers the pierce nuts  12  between the various manufacturing stations of the assembly  10  maintaining the pierce nuts  12  in a desired orientation to facilitate further processing through the assembly  10 .  
         [0039]     A first inspection station  26  is located immediately subsequent the die press  22  and includes a first light inspector  28  oriented in a generally vertical direction to verify the piercing operation as performed successfully. Optionally, a second light inspector  30  is also positioned immediately subsequent the die press  22  in the first inspection station  26  in an angular relationship to the first light inspector  28 , the purpose of which will be explained in alternative embodiments set forth below.  
         [0040]     A tapping member  32 , also seen in  FIG. 6 , is located immediately subsequent to the first inspection station  26  and includes, preferably, a plurality of tappers  34  used to form an internal or helical rib  36  upon an inner wall of an aperture  38  defined by each of the pierce nut  12  ( FIG. 6A ). It should be understood that alternative pierce nuts  12 , such as, for example, self tapping pierce nuts that have alternative ribbing are also contemplated by the inventors. Each tapper  34  is mounted upon an actuator  40  that moves in a vertical direction while rotating each tapper  34  to form the helical rib  36  or thread on the inner wall of the aperture  38 . While the Figures represent the tappers  34  operating above the pierce nuts  12 , it should be understood that the tappers  34  may also operate below the pierce nuts  12  so that either sides of each pierce nut  12  may be tapped. Each tapper  34  floats in a horizontal direction independent from the other tappers  34  maintaining a constant vertical axis so that the aperture  38  of each pierce nut  12  guides the tapper&#39;s  34  movement in the vertical direction to consistently form the helical rib  36  in each of the pierce nuts  12 . The floating tapper  34  eliminates defects to the helical rib  36  that would otherwise be caused by an off center aperture  36  or a slight gap disposed between adjacent pierce nuts  12  in the continuous track  24 . The number of tappers  34  disposed in the tapping member  32  are correlated with the rate of production of pierce nuts  12  set forth by the die press  22 . As is known to those of skill in the art, tapping is the slowest operation of the pierce nut manufacturing process and requires a plurality of tappers  34  to keep pace with the single die press  22 .  
         [0041]     A second inspection station  42  is located immediately subsequent the tapping member  32  and includes a first light inspector  28   a  and a second inspector  30   a  similar to that disposed in the first inspection station  26 . Referring again to  FIG. 6A , as set forth previously, the first light inspector  28   a  is oriented in a generally vertical direction and inspects the centrality and existence of the aperture. The second light inspector  30   a  is oriented in a generally angular relationship to the first light inspector  28   a  so that visible access is provided to both the major D and minor d diameters of the helical rib  36 . Therefore, the quality of the helical rib  36  is also inspected. In a first embodiment, the first light inspector  28 ,  28 A and the second light inspector  30 ,  30   a  are cameras provided by Keyance, Model No. CV-020, and interfaces with a controller  44  for interpreting the images generated by the first light inspector  28 ,  28   a  and the second light inspector  30 ,  30   a  to verify the quality of both the aperture  38  and the helical rib  36 . In this embodiment, the controller  44  is a CV-2100P that is cooperable with the camera model as set forth above. It should be understood by those of skill in the art that infrared sensors and the like may also be used to detect the quality of both the aperture  38  and the helical rib  36  and are contemplated for use in an alternate embodiment.  
         [0042]     It is necessary to advance the individual pierce nuts  12  along the continuous track  24  for further processing. Preferably, the method of advancement should reduce the probability of adversely contacting the pierce nut  12 , and more specifically, the helical rib  36  disposed upon each pierce nut  12 , which could result in damaging the pierce nut  12 . Therefore, a feeder  46  as best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 7  makes use of contact pads  48  preferably formed from a polymer selected to achieve frictional engagement with the fasteners  12 . A plurality of contact pads  48  form a continuous loop encircling a driving sprocket  50  and a dummy sprocket  52  much like a cat track. The driving sprocket  50  and the dummy sprocket  52  are spaced so that a plurality of contact pads  48  contact the upper surface of a plurality of adjacent pierce nuts  12  advancing along the continuous track  24 . A compressor  54  provides downward force upon the contact pads  48  to ensure sufficient frictional contact between the contact pads  48  and the pierce nuts  12  to advance the pierce nuts  12  along the continuous track  24 . One advantage of the feeder  46  set forth above is the gaps disposed between adjacent pierce nuts  12  are necessarily eliminated providing processing benefits in subsequent operation stations disposed in the assembly  10 . Supporting each pierce nut  12  in this manner reduces the potential for distorting the pierce nuts  12  due to the pressure exerted upon the pierce nuts  12  by the feeder  46 , and more specifically the contact pads  48  when force is exerted downwardly by the compressor  54 .  
         [0043]     As set forth in the background section of the present application, one known defect associated with cutting individual pierce nuts  12  from a preformed rod  14  is the distortion of at least the wire groove  18  disposed in each of the individual fasteners, and which a continuous wire groove  18  is formed by adjacent fasteners. To form a uniform wire groove  18  along adjacent fasteners, a regroover  56  is located in the assembly  10  subsequent the feeder  46 . Preferably, beneath the feeder  46 , each pierce nut  12  is supported upon its panel support surface  56  by the continuous track  24  as is best shown in  FIG. 8 .  
         [0044]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2A and 9 , which best represent the regroover  56 , an upper regroover roller  58  and a lower regroover roller  60  contact opposing sides of the pierce nuts  12  advancing along the continuous track  24  as driven by the feeder  46 . The upper regroover roller  58  provides downward pressure upon each of the pierce nuts  12  while the lower regroover roller  60  supports the pierce nuts  12  from the bottom. As best shown in  FIG. 9 , the upper regroover roller  58  includes a diameter that is less than an opening  62  defined by the lower regroover roller so that the upper regroover roller  58  is received by the lower regroover roller  60  for preventing either of the regroover rollers  58 ,  60  from moving in a generally horizontal direction resulting in defective fasteners. The lower regroover roller  60  includes contact pads support  64  to support the contact pads  48  of each of the pierce nuts  12  during the regrooving operation. A secondary support  66  includes support rims  68  that are received by the re-entrant groove  20  of each of the fasteners providing additional support to the pierce nuts  12  for reducing the potential of distortion during the regrooving operation. The upper regroover roller  58  includes opposing regroover rims  70  that are received by each of the wire grooves  18  for reforming the wire grooves  18 . The reformation of the wire groove  18  forms a uniform continuous wire groove  18  defined by adjacent pierce nuts  12  eliminating distortions caused by the die press  22  when cutting the individual pierce nuts  12  from the rod  14 . The regroover rims  70  contain the annular shape of the wire groove  18  as originally formed in the rod  14 , which is adapted to receive carrier wire  72  ( FIGS. 1, 2 ). In an alternative embodiment, each regroover rim  70  is scored or chafed to provide an abrasive surface in the base of the wire groove  18  to prevent the carrier wire  72  from slipping after installation.  
         [0045]     It is desirable to maintain a constant downward pressure on the upper regroover roller  58  to form the continuous wire groove  18  across adjacent pierce nuts  12  with a uniform disposition.  FIGS. 10 and 11  show a force producer  74  preferably operated by an air cylinder  76  or other fluid actuation device. A lever arm  78  is pivotally supported by fulcrum  80 . The lever arm  78  includes a first contact  82  that is cooperable with the air cylinder  76  and a second contact  84  that is cooperable with the upper regroover roller  58 . The air cylinder  76  provides an upward force to the first contact  82 , which by virtue of the lever arm  78  transfers downward force to the second contact  84  providing the necessary downward force to the upper regroover roller  58  to reform the wire groove  18 . An upper roller support  86  receives the downward force from the second contact  84  while pivotally supporting the upper regroover roller  58 . During a maintenance operation, the roller support  86  is necessarily lifted from the continuous track  24  to provide access to the pierce nuts  12  disposed beneath the upper regroover roller  58 . As such, a slot  88  is disposed in the lever arm  78  allowing the lever arm  78  to disengage the air cylinder  76  and the roller support  86  as is best represented in  FIG. 11 . This allows the roller support  86  to be pivoted upward in direction of arrow  90  and shown in phantom in  FIG. 2A  providing access to the pierce nuts disposed beneath the upper regroover roller  58 . A grip  92  is disposed upon the lever arm  78  to provide leverage to disengage the lever arm  78 . The novel force producer  74  set forth above provides the benefit of leveraged force to the upper regroover roller  58  and ease of maintenance without having to disassemble the regroover  56 .  
         [0046]     A wire inserter  94  is located subsequent to the regroover  56  for inserting the carrier wire  72  into the now uniform, continuous groove  18  defined by adjacent pierce nuts  12 . To reduce the number of bends in the carrier wire  72  that is common with prior art wire inserters, the carrier wire  72  is disposed upon opposing wire spools  96  located on opposite sides of the continuous track  24 . As best seen in  FIG. 12 , a single wire redirector  98  orients the carrier wire  72  to be received by the wire groove  18  with merely a single redirection of the carrier wire  72 . As best seen in  FIGS. 2, 2A , and  13 , the pierce nuts  12  are initially disposed below the carrier wire  72  and subsequently are driven in an upward direction on the continuous track  24  by the regroover  56  to meet a plane set by the carrier wire  72  after initial redirection so that the carrier wire  72  is not redirected a second time. This reduces the potential for defects in the carrier wire  72  resulting from over manipulation. As seen in  FIGS. 12 and 13 , opposing wire guides  100  verify correct orientation of each of the carrier wires  72  to be received by the pierce nuts  12  that are being lifted by the continuous track  24  to mate the wire groove  18  with the carrier wire  72 .  
         [0047]     Referring to  FIG. 14 , an upper inserter roller  102  is cooperable with a lower inserter roller  104  to guide the carrier wire  72  into the continuous wire groove  18  defined by the pierce nuts  12 . Opposing inserter rims  103  are disposed upon the upper inserter roller  102  and are received by the wire groove  18  for forcing the carrier wire  72  into the wire groove  18  as best shown in  FIG. 14 . The contact pad  48  is also supported by the contact pad support  68  disposed upon the lower regroover roller  104 . The upper inserter roller  102  and the lower inserter roller  104  cooperate in the same manner as the regroover rollers  58 ,  60  of the regroover  56 , which is explained in detail above. Accordingly, the associated lever arm  78  and other force producing apparatus will not be redescribed or renumbered for simplicity. It should be understood, however, that less force is required to insert the carrier wire  72  into the wire groove  18  than is required to reform the wire groove  18 . It should be further understood that the inserter rollers  102 ,  104  is synchronized with the regroover rollers  58 ,  60  to avoid putting tension on the carrier wire  72  or otherwise damaging the fastener strip  16  being produced.  
         [0048]     Referring to  FIG. 15 , a knurler  106  is located subsequent to the wire inserter  94  for securing the carrier wire  72  to the adjacent pierce nuts  12  forming a continuous fastener strip  16 . The knurler  106  includes an upper knurler roller  108  and a lower knurler roller  110 . The knurler  106  operates in much the same manner as the regroover  56  and the wire inserter  94  described and set forth in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . Therefore, for simplicity, the force producer  74  will not be renumbered or described again. However, referring again to  FIG. 15 , the upper knurler roller  108  is shown having opposing knurling rims  112  defining a continuous loop of chevrons  114 . The chevrons  114  deform each pierce nut  12  over the carrier wire  72  securing the carrier wire  72  in the continuous wire groove  18 . Alternative patterns to a chevron  114  may also be used to deform the pierce nut  12  over the carrier wire  72 .  
         [0049]     The lower knurler roller  110  supports the bottom of the pierce nuts  12  in the same manner and in the re-entrant groove  20  as set forth and described with the lower regroover roller  60 . Therefore, the various components that support the pierce nut  12  will not be renumbered or explained again for simplicity. It should be understood that the knurler rollers  108 ,  110  are synchronized with the regroover rollers  58 ,  60  and the inserter rollers  102 ,  104  to prevent damaging the fastener strip  16  and the various pierce nuts  12  as previously described.  
         [0050]     A counting and cut-off station  116  is located subsequent the knurling station  106 . As best seen in  FIGS. 2A, 16  and  17 , the counting and cut-off station  116  includes a primary counter  118  and a secondary counter  120  to verify the count made by the primary counter  118 . A cutter  122  is disposed between the primary counter  118  and the secondary counter  120  and operates like a punch driving in a downward direction to break the carrier wire  72  to both separate the end and beginning of a fastener spool and to separate a test strip  124  ( FIG. 18 ). Therefore, the primary counter counts the number of pierce nuts  12  being directed toward the cutter  122  and the secondary counter  120  counts the number of pierce nuts  12  being delivered to a spooler  126 . The primary and secondary counters  118 ,  120  preferably operate from an infrared sensor, however, other light sources or visioning equipment may be used to count the number of pierce nuts  12  as desired. In the disclosed embodiment, a light emitter  128  transmits light through the aperture  38  disposed in each pierce nut  12  to a light sensor  130  signaling the controller  44  with the primary and secondary count. A locator  132  disposed upon a leading edge of the cutter  122  is received by the aperture  38  defined by the pierce nut  12  being cut from the fastener strip  16  to ensure the cutter  122  does not otherwise damage any of the pierce nuts  12 . The cutter  122  drives the fastener  12  downwardly from the continuous track  24  as best shown in  FIG. 16  to an escape chute  134  to remove the fastener  12  that has been cut from the process.  
         [0051]     The spooler  126  includes a first spool  136  and a second spool  138  as is most clearly seen in  FIGS. 19 and 20 . The first spool and second spool are located in generally a common axis and articulate so that when one spool  136 ,  138  is receiving fasteners from the continuous track  24 , the other spool may be removed for packaging and shipping. The first spool  136  and the second spool  138  are fixed in a constant relationship upon a sliding surface  140  driven by motor  142  ( FIG. 2A ) in a direction generally perpendicular to the continuous track  24 . As best seen in  FIG. 19 , the first spool  136  includes a first rotary motor  144  and the second spool  138  includes a second rotary motor  146 . As best shown in  FIG. 17 , each spool  136 ,  138  includes a catch  147  that receives the continuous fastener strip  16  from the continuous track  24  upon which rotation of the spool  136 ,  138  by the rotary motor  144 ,  146  is initiated. Once the desired number of pierce nuts  12  is counted by counters  118 ,  120 , the regroover  56  no longer drives the detached fastener strip  16  as the cutter  122  has separated the fastener strip  16  and the spooling is completed by rotary motors  144 ,  146 . A release  148  affixes each spool  136 ,  138  to its pivot member  150  and allows rapid removal of the spool  136 ,  138  once the desired number of pierced nuts  12  have been received.  
         [0052]      FIGS. 17 and 18  show a preferred method of directing the fastener strip  16  to the spooler  126  and into the catch  147  of either the first  136  or second  138  spool that makes use of a flying bridge  152 . As best shown in  FIG. 17 , the flying bridge  152  includes an upper bridge member  154  and a lower bridge member  156 , each of which actuate to direct the fastener strip  16  in the preferred direction. The upper bridge member  154  is supported by an upper support strut  158  and is actuated pneumatic, hydraulic or equivalent pressure to pivot on a horizontal axis  160  providing a downward directing force to the fastener strip  16 . Likewise, the lower bridge member  156  includes a lower support strut  162  and is actuated on a horizontal axis  164  by pneumatic, hydraulic, or equivalent pressure providing an upward directing force to the fastener strip  16 . When the upper bridge member  154  and the lower bridge member  156  are fully actuated, a narrow slot  166  is defined therebetween providing a direction of travel for the fastener strip  16  into the catch  147  disposed on one of the first spool  136  or second spool  138 . To eject the test strip  124  from the assembly  10 , the lower bridge member  156  retracts allowing this test strip  124  to drop into receptor  168  ( FIG. 2A ).  
         [0053]     The die press  22  includes novel features enabling rapid production of the pierce nuts  12  and will be further described with respect to  FIGS. 3-5 . Actuation of the die press in a downward direction causes piercing members  170  to be driven downwardly into the rod  14  received by the die press  22  forming spaced apertures  38  into the rod  14 . Each piercing member  170  includes an offset  172  to form a counter sink around the aperture  38 . In one preferred embodiment, two piercing members  170  are disposed in each die press  22  so that two apertures  38  are manufactured with each actuation of the die press  22 . In an alternative embodiment, shown in  FIG. 3A , a rapid tapper  173  is operably connected to the die press  22  so that upon each actuation of the die press, the helical rib  36  is formed on an inner surface of at least one of the apertures  38  formed in the rod  14 . In this case, first and second inspectors  28 ,  30  are positioned immediately subsequent to the die press  22  and the pierce nuts  12  are transferred directly to the wire inserter  94 .  
         [0054]     When two piercing members  170  are used in the die press  22 , the rod  14  is advanced the width of two pierce nuts  12  to abut stop  178 . Stop  178  is spaced from a cutting member  180  a distance equal to the width of a single pierce nut  12 . In this embodiment, the cutting member  180  separates two pierce nuts  12  from the rod  14  by driving a section of rod  14  downwardly from the continuous track  24  forming a rearward pierce nut  12   a . The forward pierce nut  12   b  remains in the continuous track  24  in an advanced position. The rod  14  is positioned in a rod plane  82  slightly above the cut fasteners, which are disposed in a fastener plane  184 . The forward pierce nut  12   a , having been separated from the rod  14  is driven downwardly along ramp  186  toward the fastener plane  184  by vertical ejector  188  which derives downward force from spring  190 . This drops the leading edge of forward pierce nut  12   a  below stop  178  allowing advancement of the forward pierce nut  12   a  resultant from advancement of the rod  14  toward the stop  178 .  
         [0055]     As stated previously, rear pierce nut  12   b  is driven downwardly by cutting member  180  separating both the forward pierce nut  12   a  from the pierce nut  12   b  which has been separated from the rod  14 . A return member  192  is biased in an upward direction by a spring  194  returning the rear pierce nut  12   b  to the rod plane  182  allowing the forward pierce nut  12   a  and the rearward pierce nut  12   b  to be ejected from the die press in a generally common plane upon advancement of the rod  14  into the die press  22 . It should be understood that the return member  192  may be used to eject the rear pierce nut  12 B from the die press in a horizontal direction as well as in a vertical direction and in any angle therebetween.  
         [0056]     It is known to those of skill in the art that various operation stations of any manufacturing process includes bottlenecks that slow down the process unnecessarily when not addressed appropriately.  FIGS. 21 and 22  show one method of addressing a bottleneck caused by, for example, the tapping member  32 . As set forth above, in one preferred embodiment, the forward pierce nut  12   a  and a rearward pierce nut  12   b  are ejected from the die press  22  in a generally common plane. In so doing, parallel tapping members  32   a  and  32   b  accelerate the process of tapping each pierce nut  12  to twice the single rate. It should be understood, that different size tappers  34  may be used in each of the tapping members  32   a ,  32   b  enabling two different pierce nuts  12  to be manufactured from a single die press  22 . It should be further understood that parallel operations are contemplated for any bottleneck determined to slow down the assembly and resultant pierce nut  12  production set forth in the application.  
         [0057]     While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.