Methods and systems for selecting and pre-feeding fasteners into automated drilling machines

A method for selecting processing parameters for operating an automated machine, the method comprising:

• at a manufacturing data center receiving historical manufacturing data comprising reference processing locations and reference processing parameters, each of the reference processing parameters previously selected for a corresponding one of the reference processing locations;
• at the manufacturing data center determining, from the historical manufacturing data and for each of the reference processing locations, a specific processing parameter of the reference processing parameters and a parameter repeatability rating, corresponding to the specific processing parameter;
• receiving processing locations, each corresponding to one of the reference processing locations;
• and
• selecting the specific processing parameter for each of the processing locations when the parameter repeatability rating, corresponding the specific processing parameter, exceeds an operating threshold.

A manufacturing system comprising:

• a manufacturing data center, comprising:
• a historical data store, configured to receive and store a historical manufacturing data from an automated drilling machine, the historical manufacturing data comprising hole identifications and fastener grip lengths, each of the fastener grip lengths previously selected for a corresponding one of the hole identifications;
• a scoring engine, configured to determine, from the historical manufacturing data and for each of the hole identifications, a specific grip length of the fastener grip lengths and a fastener repeatability rating, corresponding to the specific grip length;
• and
• an operating data store, configured to store the specific grip length and the fastener repeatability rating for each of the hole identifications.