Portsmouth Fastener Manufacturing Workstation. Fastener Engraving System (Design,Construction, and Operation)

摘要

The Portsmouth Fastener workstation is an advanced fastener manufacturingworkstation which produces high-quality, Level-1, safety-critical fasteners. For material traceability, each fastener manufactured must be marked with the manufacturer's identification, lot number, and material symbol. Currently, most of the markings are done manually using either a vibrating marking pen or a stamping die. Both methods are very labor intensive and expensive. A computer-controlled engraving machine is employed to semiautomate the marking process to improve productivity and enhance quality. The major problem encountered in engraving is the fixturing of fasteners in the machine in a quick and easy manner. This paper describes the NIST developed pneumatic fixturing system using an inflatable elastomeric gasket and customized engraving software, devices, and schemes that the operator can use to run the engraving system. A complete set of engineering drawings of the engraving fixture and an operator's manual are included in the Appendices.