Aerospace Automated Fastening Conference and Exposition. The FDS is a compact automated system that conveys fasteners on demand to a user- supplied end effecter. Each system can store over 8,000 fasteners of 400 different varieties. Rivets, slave bolts, and threaded fasteners are conveyed on demand in non-sequential order with no changeover. Fastener dimensions range from head diameters of 4 mm to 22 mm and lengths from 6 mm to 58 mm.
Drums are interchangeable and uniquely identified with a barcode.
The inventory of the drum is tracked in a relational database. The fasteners are propelled using a fastener configurable, low air pressure stream. Fasteners travel on demand from the drum through the escapement shuttle and to the end effecter in a few seconds. The FDS can be used in a wide variety of manufacturing applications in aerospace, automotive and marine systems. The FDS can be fixed-mounted or arranged for portable use.