NEWS 14/11/2013 THE POTEZ AÉRONAUTIQUE RIVETING ROBOTS L'USINE NOUVELLE N° 3353 Potez Aéronautique, the aerostructures manufacturer, has established a robotised cell capable of installing rivets on curved surfaces. When they decided to investigate the feasibility of setting up a robotised cell, Potez Aéronautique had not chosen to do so. Not to mention the regulatory constraints involved in the sector. "The project began as a result of the slump in 2009", as explained by Roland Potez, the company CEO. "We took the decision to modify our production tool in order to be more efficient as soon as the slump ended. It was also a means of avoiding delocalisation." The cell with its two Fanuc robots installed face to face are used to drill and countersink the holes and to install the rivets. The benefits achieved are not limited to an increased rate of work. The robot positions itself with precision and performs the entire task itself, whereas previously one had to design, manufacture and validate an apparatus, a drilling template for example, to position and guide the drill bit. A costly tool to produce and which had to be changed whenever the prime contractor introduced a modification. "With the robot, the gain in reactivity is considerable. We have done a great deal of work on this aspect, by interfacing the robot with the Catia CAD software. In the event of a modification, a simple reprogramming operation suffices." The establishment of the cell demanded a redefinition of the manufacturing processes, with the creation of a "continuous improvement" cell. As the industrial robots available were not suited to the precision requirements of the aeronautical industry, the engineers at Potez developed an add-on tool to be fitted on the end of the robot arm and a 3D vision system to increase its accuracy. The two robots are now operational and are working on large dimension sheets, up to 7 metres long by 3 metres wide, featuring complex geometry curved surfaces.

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