Installation tool for aerospace fastening system

A fastening system installation tool for installation of a fastening system to a structure, said tool comprising:

• an outer housing having an interior hollow, a gage surface, and a base surface, said base surface having a contact area that contacts the surface of the structure;
• an inner plug disposed within said interior hollow and that translates axially within said interior hollow, wherein:
• said inner plug has a sensing end that contacts the fastening system;
• said inner plug has an indicator end dimensioned to accept washers and nuts of the fastening system stacked on said gage surface;
• and
• said inner plug has an indicator on said indicator end wherein said indicator of said inner plug includes a shoulder, a position of said shoulder correlating to a dimension requirement which indicates whether a fastening system component selection allows conformance to a qualitative requirement of a fastening system installation specification.

A system for installation of a fastening system to a structure, said system comprising:

• a fastening system installation specification including dimensional requirements for components of a fastening system;
• and
• a tool including:
• an outer housing having an interior hollow, a gage surface, and a base surface;
• said base surface having a contact area that contacts the surface of the structure;
• an inner plug disposed within said interior hollow and that translates axially within said interior hollow, wherein:
• said inner plug has a sensing end that contacts and references the end of a bolt of the fastening system and references the shank section of a bolt of the fastening system, wherein said sensing end of said inner plug references the end of a bolt of the fastening system and said indicator end of said inner plug has an indicator that is readable in conjunction with said gage surface to indicate whether the bolt satisfies a minimum pin protrusion dimensional requirement of said fastening system installation specification;
• said inner plug has an indicator end dimensioned to accept washers and nuts of the fastening system stacked on said gage surface;
• and
• said inner plug has an indicator on said indicator end that provides installation information according to said fastening system installation specification about components of the fastening system being installed using the tool.

An installation system for installing aerospace fastening systems to a structure, said installation system comprising:

• an installation guide in accordance with qualitative requirements for components of a fastening system;
• and
• a tool including:
• an outer housing having an interior hollow, a gage surface, and a base surface, said base surface having a flat contact area that contacts the surface of the structure;
• an inner plug disposed within said interior hollow and that translates axially within said interior hollow, wherein:
• said inner plug has a sensing end with an axial bore that contacts the fastening system, and said sensing end references the shank section of a bolt of the fastening system;
• said inner plug has an indicator end;
• a transducer connected between said outer housing and said inner plug, and that measures a relative displacement between said inner plug and said outer housing;
• and
• an electronic instrumentation connected to said transducer and that provides and displays installation information according to said installation guide about whether the bolt, washer, and nut components of the fastening system being installed using the tool will conform to a fastening system installation specification.

A method for installing aerospace fastening systems to a structure, comprising the steps of:

• seating a base of an outer housing of a tool to a surface of the structure;
• referencing a shank section of a bolt of the fastening system with an Inner plug of said tool;
• reading a threads-in-bearing indicator of said inner plug in conjunction with a gage surface of said outer housing;
• replacing the bolt when said threads-in-bearing indicator is not above said gage surface;
• and
• installing the bolt when said threads-in-bearing indicator is above said gage surface.

A method for installing aerospace fastening systems to a structure, comprising the steps of:

• inserting a bolt of the fastening system in a hole of the structure;
• checking for a protrusion of a shank section of the bolt above a surface of the structure;
• replacing the bolt when the shank section does not protrude above the surface of the structure;
• seating a base of an outer housing of a tool to a surface of the structure;
• referencing a shank section of a bolt of the fastening system with an inner plug of said tool;
• stacking a first washer on a gage surface of said tool to form a stack;
• reading a shanking indicator of said inner plug in conjunction with the top of the stack;
• and
• adding an additional washer to the stack when the top of the stack is below said shanking indicator.

An automated fastening machine including:

• an outer housing having an interior hollow, a gage surface, and a base surface, said base surface having a flat contact area;
• an inner plug disposed within said interior hollow and that translates axially within said interior hollow, wherein:
• said inner plug has a sensing end with an axial bore, and said sensing end contacts a fastening system and references the shank section of a bolt of the fastening system;
• and
• said inner plug has an indicator end;
• a transducer connected between said outer housing and said inner plug, and that measures a relative displacement between said inner plug and said outer housing;
• and
• an electronic instrumentation connected to said transducer.