Release: april 2001

Automatic sethead CFA 803 with electro actuator for RIVKLE® blind rivet nuts and screws. Quick and flexible method for components accessible from one side only. Bielefeld. With an electrically driven assembly system for blind rivet nuts and screws, type RIVKLE®, Böllhoff has gained considerable rationalisation potential for connecting components with difficult accessibility. The innovative solution which Böllhoff is premiering at the Hanover Fair is particularly suitable for use by the automotive industry as well as in heating, refrigeration and air-conditioning applications and also the linen goods industry. Under the name RIVKLE®, Böllhoff as a system specialist has been marketing a comprehensive range of products for blind riveting applications for many years. In addition to the actual joining elements from company production, these also include heavy-duty and flexible assembly systems. The processing of RIVKLE® blind rivet nuts continues to be extensively characterised by hand-held equipment due to a high quota of manual activities. With this method, the connecting elements first have to be spindled up, then positioned, clinched by force and then de-spindled again. Automated systems can therefore result in considerable cost advantages, particularly where series production is concerned. Given this background, Böllhoff has developed user-orientated modules for automatic RIVKLE® assembly. A hydraulically driven sethead (with C-frame) has been in the program for eighteen months, and this sethead is used in all those applications where rivet locations accessible from both sides are to be found. By contrast, the new electrically driven sethead is specially designed to deal with the riveting of locations which are either accessible from one side only or - for example hollow bodies or hollow profiles - only allow processing from one side. In daily practice, the electro-actuator is characterised by a particularly high degree of flexibility. A convenient integration into automated processes is ensured by plain (plug-) interfaces and the comparably low number of sensors. In this way, set-up and alignment times remain short - and this with particularly precise electronic process control (force/path). A further advantage: compared with hydraulic actuators, no oil is required. This means that the system is particularly environment-friendly, requires less space and less expenditure where workplace periphery is concerned. Where the material feed supply is concerned, Böllhoff relies on the well-proven use of blade conveyors for surface-protecting and noise-reduced singling. In this way, damage to the rivet surfaces is practically ruled out. And here also, considerable emphasis was placed on flexibility for the integration of the system in production processes. As a result, the rivet unit can be assembled in all spatial positions. In this case, RIVKLE® blind rivet nuts can be selectively processed with round or hexagonal shafts. Transfer is always effected in the correct processing position preventing time-consuming sethead search functions. With the electrically driven assembly system for RIVKLE® blind rivet nuts and screws, Böllhoff again underlines its high innovation power in the field of joining technology. The system was developed using the most modern company-internal computer-supported 3D-simulation methods. A change from a manual device to an automatic sethead with electro-actuator is profitable from an economic point of view for the many companies performing more than 500,000 blind rivet nut - riveting applications annually. Responsible: Dipl.-Ing. Johan Haig Linden, Projectmanager, Böllhoff Verbindungstechnik GmbH, Archimedesstraße 1-4, 33649 Bielefeld Tel. +49 (0) 521/44 82-473, Fax -371, jhlinden@boellhoff.com Copy requested to: Böllhoff publicity manager Wolfgang Sönel Archimedesstr. 1-4 D-33649 Bielefeld Text download: RIVKLE® CFA 803 (Characters including spaces 3,571)

Picture download: Picture 1: RIVKLE® CFA 803 (ca. 328 KB) Picture 2: RIVKLE® CFA 803 roboter (ca. 675KB)