Design of a Fast Temporary Fastener with the Labor-Saving and Reversible Ability

• Main Authors: Wei Tang, Xincheng Xie, Yukang Ye, Weiwei Qu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-09-01
• Series: Coatings
• Subjects: labor-saving; reversible; quick installation and disassembly; lever principle
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/11/9/1101

Aircraft panel assembly mainly includes the pre-joining process and the riveting process. In addition, the traditional pre-joining process is mainly executed by bolts, which has problems such as the large tightening torque, inconvenient bilateral tightening, heavy workload, and inconvenient loading and unloading. To solve the above-mentioned problems, a research of new temporary fastener is performed deeply from three levels of quick installation, labor-saving, and reversible ability. This involves (a) employing the lever mechanism and the rapid expansion anchor to implement the rapid clamping and disassembly of working processes by labor-saving; (b) integrating the adjusting spring to overcome the tolerances of parts; and (c) building up the space-cross slide rails to provide the axial clamping forces and the reversible forces. The application of designed fasteners was employed into the production of aircraft panel, and the error between theoretical and experimental values was less than 10%. Besides this, the result showed the good effect in panel clamping and the reliable processes of loading and unloading installation, and will greatly reduce the complexity of pre-joining process, the difficulty of installation, and the comprehensive cost.