HVAC products and services offered to the consumer come with little to no room for revamping. As the cost of energy continues to rise, manufacturers have come under pressure to meet production goals, such as reducing energy usage, maintaining occupant comfort, and sustaining high levels of energy savings throughout the year. Even modern HVAC systems lose operational efficiency after installation because of improper manufacturing and installation techniques. Duct leakage is a major contributor to the rising cost of energy; air inside of the duct under positive pressure will leak out of the Pittsburgh/Snap lock seams, from the slip, drive or TDC connector joints, or out of wall penetrations from damper rods. This leakage causes two problems: one is when air leaks out of a duct system, some areas will be short of airflow. Secondly, this lack of air can cause overheating in the summer and an inability to heat in the winter. If the ductwork is not designed or assembled properly, leakage rates up to 25% can be expected. A solution is advanced flow fastener assembly. This process has already been proven through the automotive and white goods industries and ensures the quality of the fastener is maintained under intense conditions.
Fasteners require an assembly system that realizes the importance of creating a stable joint while protecting the fastener during the feeding and installation process. The specially formed tip of the flow fastener generates frictional heat under high pressure and at high speeds, creating a flow path in materials, which have not been pre-drilled. At the start of the process, high rotation rate and pressure heat soften the material through friction. The softened layers are stretched into a funnel and multiple threads are formed at reduced speed. The treads created are a common pitch and can accommodate a standard metric screw, if repairs ever need to be carried out. The next step is the pre-tightening of the screw until head contact is made and then the final tightening of the fastener to the preset parameters of torque and angle. The entire process takes less than one to two seconds (depending on fastener type and material combination).
此外，不需要常规的紧固件组件，例如螺母，因为组件穿透并形成螺钉的线，从而使其牢固地设置。这个过程不仅可以连接各种材料和/或厚度的片面，而且还提供了有关处理成本和时间的明显优势。在具有波动的公差和不同组件的应用程序中，这种加入过程可能会对常规组装系统造成挑战。
Component tolerances such as deviating positions, hole locations, material thickness, layer gaps, screw length tolerances or structural differences have a significant role in ensuring high screwdriving quality. Current solutions on the market for screw assembly systems respond to these parameters with separate determination for each screw position which is time-consuming. This prior-generation equipment provided the stroke movement and down-force by an air cylinder with a proportional valve. The behavior of the compressed air prevented individual processing steps from being followed with any accuracy. There is a danger that if the screwdriver speed or pressure is reduced too early, the funnel is not fully formed, and a heightened drilling torque could destroy the screw or the component. Any delay in the transition could damage the newly created threads— compromising the joint altogether.
The entire process takes less than one to two seconds (depending on fastener type and material combination).
另一个有问题的问题是紧固件的喂养。通常，螺钉首先通过饲料软管喂食，最后是“尖端”和“头”。由于需要这些流量剂的尖端才能试射到材料中，因此可以通过对零件进行工具或过早触摸来损坏。因此，完美的解决方案是一个喂食系统，该系统首先要喂食紧固件，并在最后一刻进行配置。请记住，材料和紧固件通常会随着产品变化的要求而变化，必须从头开始重建常规组装系统。那是昂贵且耗时的。
A much better solution would be an assembly system that can quickly and flexibly adjust to handle a different fastener, different parameters, and different materials. Using an earlier generation of assembly system requires a lot of engineering involvement, such as parameter input, parameter change, adjustments to cylinders, air, etc. If an assembly system is used, that is adaptive where the adjustment is made automatically, then less time is spent on setup and maintaining the screwdriving system.
双闭环系之间的通信允许自动识别材料层的穿透。
理想的组装应使用“闭环”和自适应组装单元，将EC-Servo Screw Driving技术与EC-Servo Stroke Technology结合在一起。双闭环系统之间的通信允许自动识别物料层的穿透（无独立的材料或螺钉耐受性）。这种控制可以不断评估控制模块中的相关反馈，并自动优化过程。这可以通过调整工艺变量（例如接触压力，进料率，中风距离和速度）来完成。该系统还确保了理想的处理参数，这意味着：
- parameters are reliably put into action during each screwdriving cycle
- 连接零件和紧固件暴露于可能的压力最小。
Costly- and time-consuming parameter adjustments, quality inspections, and joint analysis process-testing could be reduced to a minimum or eliminated. Expensive and extensive repair procedures that are caused by inaccurately formed holes, jammed screws, or ruined threads would be kept to a minimum. It is recommended to pre-feed the next fastener to some distribution hub, while the system is processing the current fastener. Such an assembly system should be optimized to allow for the shortest possible cycle time. It is recommended that a precise joining will always be maintained by the assembly system to conform with the screws’ thread-pitch.
Taking into consideration the need to have short feeding cycles, a screw preload feature (buffer) would optimize the cycle time. Another crucial feature must be an ergonomic, and intuitive operator interface (HMI). The ideal system should have detailed recordings of all processing parameters, processing analysis, screwdriving results, and offer complete process-documentation for download. It should also offer extensive parameterization of the assembly settings and results; thereby ensuring that all screw positions can be accurately accessed. Modular construction in connection with some quick-change adaptation would make the assembly system especially maintenance-friendly.
当se灵活性应该是至关重要的lecting an assembly joining system, and a choice of robot mounting either on the rear of the assembly equipment or on top should be possible.
