Alva Engineers

99-830-1 Nose Assembly. Pulls 1/4″ Huck Boms with Models 246, 255, 256, & 2580

The Huck 99-830-1 Nose Assembly pulls 1/4" Huck Boms with the following Huck tools: 246, 255, 256, & 2580.

G746KS, Cherry Aerospace Tool Part, Seal Kit G746
Product Information
MPN- G746KSBSPN
BA-G746KS

• For those who like to overhaul their own tools, this seal kit is perfect for you. 
• This cost effective solution is a good alternative to buying a brand new tool.
• Comes with all the replaceable internal seals and o-rings for your Cherry rivet gun.

Benefits of Forcetec Rivetless Nutplates

• Eliminates nut plate rivet holes
• Reduces production and manufacturing time
• Improves fatigue life of structure
• Exceeds MIL-N-25027 requirements for torque and pushout.
• Simple, quick installation.

Rivetless Nut PlatesForceTec is a unique method of installing an innovative and cost effective rivetless nut plate. Unlike conventional riveted or swaged-in nut plates, the ForceTec system radially expands a retainer into a hole. The retainer is designed to be permanent, and only the nut itself requires replacement.
ForceTec rivetless nut plate system is widely used as an alternative to traditional riveted nut plates. ForceTec’s simple installation makes it a cost effective option, significantly reducing labor and maintenance costs over the life of the aircraft. ForceTec eliminates the need for satellite holes and rivets, which are required for most nut plate installations. Instead, ForceTec is fastened to the structure by radially expanding the ForceTec nut plate barrel into the hole. The expansion creates high interference between the barrel and the structure that allows the nut plate to resist torque and pushout. ForceTec installations exceed the requirements of MIL-N-25027 for torque and pushout. In addition, cold expansion of the retainers into the hole imparts compressive residual stresses into the surrounding material, increasing the fatigue performance of the hole.

The ForceTec Tooling System uses the same Puller Unit and PowerPak as our Split Sleeve Cold Expansion system, however, there are variations in the mandrels, sleeves, nose caps, and other durable tooling. A complete ForceTec system includes (but is not limited to):

• Cutting Tools
• Mandrel & Nosecap
• Split Sleeves (depending on installation method)
• Check Gages (combination & mandrel)
• Puller & PowerPak

Installation ProcedureForceTec Rivetless Nutplates can be installed using a split sleeve, mandrel only, or AIM system. The best installation for your application depends on a variety of factors including installation access, material, and desired installation speed and modularity. A major OEM time study completed of ForceTec showed that in the time it took to install 100 riveted nut plates, they could install 665 ForceTec retainers with zero defective installations. ForceTec also allows the immediate assembly of other components without waiting for adhesives to cure.Below is an example of a classic ForceTec open retainer being installed with a split sleeve.

Composite Application

FTI product systems provide simple installations, design flexibility, and improved performance. They eliminate the risk and time associated with sealants, satellite holes, and other types of interference fit products. Each product is radially expanded from an initial clearance fit to lock it into the structure and provide uniform contact with the hole surface resulting in the following advantages over other assembly methods:

• Improved open hole compression strength.
• Faster product installation and joint assembly.
• Hole protection in areas where bare holes can wear or wallow.
• Reduced arcing and laminate damage caused by lightning strike.
• Improved electrical conductivity through fastened joints to grounding locations.
• Simplified repair.
• Higher installation reliability and repeatability.

 

High Interference Bushing Installation

One of the most time consuming and complex processes of aircraft manufacturing and repair is bushing installations. Installing a shrink-fit bushing, using dangerous cryogenics, had technicians pounding a frozen bushing into place before it expanded back to its original size.

Not anymore. FTI has taken the proven science of cold expansion to make bushing installations a breeze. Using our technology, aircraft manufacturers and maintenance crews are reducing their bushing installation flow-time and costs while also installing a bushing that is superior in performance than the old shrink-fit or press-fit methods.

The ForceMate System provides an alternative to shrink or press fit bushing installation methods. Use of the system results in consistent high interference bushing installation and enhanced fatigue performance (whether needed or not), at reduced installation cost.

Benefits of ForceMate BushingsReduced Installation Cost:

Eliminates the need for cryogenic liquids and significantly reduces installation flow-time while decreasing the safety risk for the technician.

High Resistance to Rotation and Pushout:

The high interference fit provides for greater resistance to rotation or pushout than other bushing installation techniques.

Increased Resistance to Corrosion:

Initial clearance fit insures that corrosion protection coatings (e.g. cadmium plating) remain intact. Since no cryogenic materials are required, the risk of moisture becoming trapped between the bore of the hole and the bushing is eliminated, reducing the risk of corrosion.

Significant Life Improvement:

Beneficial residual compressive stresses are created around the hole and the bushing is installed with a high interference fit. The bushing is initially placed in the hole as clearance fit, and then using an oversized tapered mandrel, the lubricated ForceMate bushing is cold expanded into the hole. The resulting interference fit of the bushing, coupled with simultaneous cold working of the metal surrounding the hole, produces a fatigue life improvement of, typically, 3:1 or better.

The ForceMate Tooling System uses the same Puller Unit and PowerPak as our Split Sleeve Cold Expansion system, however, there are variations in the mandrels, nose caps, and other durable tooling. A complete ForceMate system includes (but is not limited to):

• Cutting Tools
• Mandrel & Nosecap
• Bushings
• Check Gages (combination & mandrel)
• Puller & PowerPak

Installation ProcedureThe ForceMate system is comprised of integrated technology and tooling, including ForceMate inserts, mandrels, nosecaps, gages, support assemblies, cutting tools, puller units, special fixtures, and training. Successful implementation and process effectiveness are assured through use of the complete FTI ForceMate system.
BlueCoat™ is an epoxy coating that can be applied on ForceMate bushings to prevent fretting. Used in conjunction with ForceMate, BlueCoat minimizes and prevents fatigue cracking, fretting and corrosion in your bushing installation applications.

Composite Application

_{Benefits of ForceMate in Metal-Composite Hybrid Structures}

• Installs bushings in the metal and composite at the same time with tailored relative expansion levels.
• Improves the fatigue life of the metal structure.
• Enables structures to be line-reamed without disassembly.
• Eliminates the need to de-burr titanium structure during assembly.
• Provides for simple rework if hole is drilled oversize or off position.
• Supports alignment tolerance.
• Accommodates thermal mis-match of materials.

99-3709 - Nose Assembly Offset

FTI's Split Sleeve Cold Expansion™ system is a cost effective solution to problems associated with fatigue cracks in holes in metal structures. Split Sleeve Cold Expansion is accomplished by pulling a tapered mandrel, pre-fitted with a lubricated split sleeve, through a hole in aluminum, steel or titanium. The function of the disposable split sleeve is to reduce mandrel pull force, ensure correct radial expansion of the hole, preclude damage to the hole, and allow one-sided processing.

The process works by imparting beneficial compressive residual stress around the hole. The action of drawing the mandrel through the starting hole causes a radial plastic flow of material and results in an annular zone of residual compressive stresses that extend up to one diameter beyond the edge of the hole as shown below.

The sleeve allows for one-sided processing and shields the hole from frictional forces generated by the high interference of the expansion mandrel. The residual stresses created by cold expansion significantly increase fatigue life by reducing the stress intensity factor and crack growth life by reducing the applied stress ratio at the hole. The magnitude of the peak residual compressive circumferential stress is about equal to the compressive yield stress for the material. The compressive stress zone spans one radius to one diameter from the edge of the hole, for diameters up to 1/2 inch for most materials. A balancing zone of tensile stresses lies beyond the circumferential compressive stress zone.

Benefits of Split Sleeve Cold Expansion

• In most cases, at least 3:1 fatigue life improvement
• Arrests small crack growth
• Cost effective alternative to redesign
• Adds no weight to structure
• Simple, one-sided operation
• Works on all common aerospace materials
• Applicable in both production and rework
• Can be automated

Cold Expansion to SizeCold Expansion to Size is the same general practice as standard Split Sleeve Cold Expansion, but the process eliminates final reaming of the hole. Cold Expansion to Size is material dependent, and the tooling is designed according to the properties of the material. By knowing how different material reacts to the radial stresses of Split Sleeve Cold Expansion, we can predict the final hole size. Cold Expansion to Size is ideal for production work, but has also been used in rework situations. Also, Cold Expansion to Size works well when incorporated in automated drilling/fastener insertion systems.

The Split Sleeve Cold Expansion Tooling System uses the same Puller Unit and PowerPak as many of our other product families, however, there are variations in the mandrels, sleeves, nosecaps, and other durable tooling. A complete Cold Expansion system includes (but is not limited to):
• Cutting Tools• Mandrel & Nosecap• Split Sleeves• Check Gages (combination & mandrel)• Puller & PowerPak

Advanced Aerospace Fittings

FTI's FleXmate Advanced Aerospace Fitting process is a new system for installing hardware that is beneficial to your aircraft structure in multiple aspects - from design and manufacturing, to operation and maintenance. This system supports current manufacturing practices and is flexible in its uses – from fuel and gases fittings to hydraulics, electrical and drain fittings.

Legacy Fittings are usually large and heavily flanged requiring a thick or large diameter pad up. The assembly is often complex with multiple penetrations that require satellite fasteners around the fitting. This adds weight to the structure and limits the design of the aircraft.

The FleXmate system offers a better way of installing these fittings. Using our advance knowledge of the cold expansion process, we can provide a fitting that gives you design flexibility, offers structural durability, saves weight, and reduces production and maintenance costs.

Benefits of FleXmate Fittings

• Weight reduction
• Smaller footprint and simplified assembly
• Simple one-piece designs
• Electrically conductive
• Fast and consistent interference fit installation
• Typically 2:1 life improvement of the structure
• Elimination of satellite holes (saving manufacturing time and eliminating areas of future crack growth)
• Excellent sealing characteristics

FleXmate uses all the same PowerPak and puller units as other cold expansion processes. The durable tooling, such as nosecap, mandrel and fitting are specially designed for FleXmate installations. A split sleeve is not required for the FleXmate process, as the inside of the fitting is pre-lubricated to ensure even radial expansion and to reduce the amount of pull force required. Typically the FleXmate process uses a tang mandrel, in place of a threaded mandrel to provide easy tool removal. A complete FleXmate system includes (but is not limited to):

• Cutting Tools
• Mandrel, Chuck, & Nosecap
• Check Gages (combination & mandrel)
• Puller & PowerPak

It is recommended that the overhaul/service tool kit listed in the tool manual be used to facilitate tool overhaul. A complete tool overhaul can be achieved by using the Service Kit, listed in the manual, which contains a complete set of o'rings, back-up rings, screws, washers and gaskets.

Our K-Fast™ tool product line has been the industry standard for more than 50 years, allowing fast, repetitive and reliable installations and removals of K-Fast™ nuts. More than 150 models are available in pneumatic, DC electric, semi-automatic and hand designs.

Lockbolt, blind bolt and blind rivet installation tools are offered in pneudraulic, hydraulic and DC electric models to provide accurate installation of a variety of brands and sizes.  A special line of lightweight ergonomic tools is available for installation of Ergo-Tech® blind fasteners.

Hand-held and fixtured tools are available for hole preparation, installation and removal of various insert and stud products. Products include Keenserts® and ring locked inserts and studs and Slimsert™ inserts. Semi-automatic installation tools are also offered.

Blind Fastening System

TukLoc, the first mechanically attached blind fastening system for use in primary and secondary structures, utilizes a blind nut that is installed into the aircraft structure using FTI's state of the art cold expansion process. TukLoc is installed in the structure by radially expanding the fastener into the hole. This expansion creates an interference fit that is resistant to torque and pushout that also meets or exceeds the NASM25027 specification.

The expansion process locks the fastener into the structure and then common aerospace screws are installed to finish the fastened joint. The unique tooling utilized by this fastening system provides the first blind fastener that incorporates the benefits of Fatigue Technology's proprietary cold expansion systems to provide resistance to fatigue cracking. TukLoc is available in two versions: non-sealed or sealed applications (such as fuel tanks).

The mechanical expansion provides a secure, permanent sealing in applications where sealing is required. TukLoc is currently available in elliptical head configuration.

Benefits of TukLoc

• Process consistency and repeatability
• No additional sealants required when wet installed with primer
• Rapid installation
• Can be easily automated

The TukLoc Tooling System uses a custom pneumatic/hydralic puller unit and PowerPak. As with all of our products, there are variations in the durable tooling. A complete TukLoc system includes (but is not limited to):

• Cutting Tools
• Mandrel & Mandrel Housing
• Threaded Rod
• Check Gages (combination & mandrel)
• Puller & PowerPak
• TukLoc is currently available in elliptical head configuration.

Installation ProcedureTukLoc is installed in the structure by radially expanding the fastener into the hole. This process can be easily used in a number of blind fastening areas and is an excellent replacement for elliptical press nuts and RivNuts. TukLoc's blind fastening system provides consistent and repeatable results and can be easily automated.

Fluid fitting tools are for the creation of fluid fitting ports and installation and removal of fluid fittings.

A full line of specialty installation and removal tools is available for the FC43®, Mark IV™, Milson and Trimil™ fasteners. Hole preparation, installation and removal tools are also offered for Camloc® 1/4-turn fasteners.

RailTec Overview

The RailTec System was developed for the rail industry and is based on FTI's Split Sleeve Cold Expansion System. The flexibility of the system enables it to be easily applied to all main line or branch line track as part of routine maintenance. Rail with small fatigue cracks can be reworked and safely returned to service. Additionally, the system can be used during the manufacture of rails, frogs, and switches.

The cold expansion process increases the life of a bolt hole by producing a zone of residual compressive stresses around the hole. This is achieved by drawing an oversized, tapered mandrel through an internally pre-lubricated split sleeve in the hole. When the mandrel passes through the hole, the combined major diameter of the mandrel and thickness of the sleeve enlarge the hole, yielding the material directly around the hole and creating the protective zone of residual stress. This zone protects the hole from the stresses applied to the rail end and significantly decreases the probability of fatigue cracks. The cold expansion process, when applied to typical rail stock, increases the life of the bolt hole by at least 3:1.

BENEFITS OF THE RAILTEC SYSTEM

• Improves the fatigue life of the hole by at least 3:1
• Arrests the growth or small cracks
• Cost-effective alternative to new track
• Reduces maintenance and inspection costs
• Increases the overall structural integrity and safety of the line

Testing Introduction

While most track comprises continuous welded rail, bolted joints are still used to connect level crossings, turnout frogs and switches, and insulated joints. Traditional bolted rail is still in use in many regional railroads, especially in underdeveloped countries where the cost of replacing the bolted rail infrastructure is prohibitive. Heavy-axle-load freight cars for bulk commodity traffic show net operating benefits, however from an engineering standpoint, heavy axle loads shorten track component life, increase the track structure degradation rate, and increase the risk of derailment. Class I railroads are generally equipped to handle these higher loads but the same loads applied to existing track and most regional railroads have serious implications in terms of increased maintenance and risk of rail fatigue failure.

As part of the Heavy Axle Load (HAL) program conducted by the Transportation Technology Center Inc., (TTCI) for the United States (U.S.) rail industry to investigate the effect of increased axle loads and speeds on existing track, it was found that an increase in axle load of only 20% precipitated serious cracking in bolt holes at turnout frogs and switches. Furthermore, the impact of operating with 36- and 39-ton axle loads showed an increase in the track maintenance effort of 21%. From a maintenance standpoint the effect of HAL significantly increased internal defects and damage at rail joints by 32%.

In 1974, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board identified broken rails as the largest single cause of train accidents. Between 1982 and 1988, track-related accidents represented between 30 and 40% of the total number of reported accidents. U.S. Federal Railroad Administration statistics for 1988 showed that derailments caused by bolt hole failures accounted for 10% of the total cost of rail and joint bar defects.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) sponsored a study in 1975 to investigate the application of several promising aerospace fatigue life enhancement techniques to rail bolt holes. These methods included pad coining, interference fit bolts and split sleeve cold expansion. The lives of specimens treated with split-sleeve cold expansion showed a remarkable life improvement compared to non-cold expanded bolt holes and the other methods investigated. The DOT study showed dramatic improvement in rail life after the application of cold expansion.

Many fatigue cracks in bridge structures are drill stopped to repair the bridge. However, drill stopping may only stop a crack from growing for a short time. FTI’s StopCrackEX System cold expands a bushing into a drill stop, imparting residual compressive stresses around it, protecting it from cyclic loads. This large zone of residual compression around the drill stop greatly reduces crack growth, even when the drill stop misses the tip of the crack. Independent, third-party testing has shown that this repair method extends the fatigue life of the drill stop by over ten times.

StopCrackEX is based on FTI’s Cold Expansion System and products that are being used by virtually every commercial and military aircraft manufacturer worldwide to extend the fatigue life of holes in metallic structures. FTI’s 40 years of engineering expertise has lead us to become the world leaders in expanded products.
Benefits of the StopCrackEX System

• Arrests the growth of small cracks in holes
• Extends the fatigue life of drill stops by over 10 times
• Cost-effective alternative to redesign of the structure
• Installed bushing allows for positive visual inspection
• Simple and easy-to-use one-sided operation
• Reduces maintenance and inspection costs
Background & Testing Details
Southern Utah Engineering was retained by Miceli Consulting, LLC (MIC) to conduct a series of independent fatigue tests investigating the effectiveness of Fatigue Technology’s (FTI) StopCrackEX process in stopping fatigue cracks in bridge steel. The StopCrackEX process is a derivative of FTI’s StopCrack® process that has been used in the aerospace industry for decades to retard or arrest the growth of aircraft structural fatigue cracks. StopCrackEX incorporates FTI’s high interference fit ForceMate® cold expanded bushing into the CAH. A test plan was designed in conjunction with MIC and FTI to compare typical crack arrest holes with FTI’s StopCrackEX process.

• 22 kip MTS Test Frame
• Three samples were repaired using a conventional 1/2 inch crack arrest hole
• Four samples were repaired using the StopCrackEX process within the 1/2 inch hole
• Specimens cycled at 10Hz until a new crack was initiated and propagated to 0.15 inch on the other side of the given repair or until 4,000,000 cycles (except in one test - which was extended to 20,000,000 cycles)
• Gross Stress = 25ksi
• Stress Ratio = 0.05

Frangible collar installation tools will install collars such as Aero-Lite®, Hi-Lok® and Veri-Lite® fasteners and many other types.

Our Eddie-Bolt 2 tools consist of a complete line of pneumatic and manual installation and removal tools as well as gauges.

Howmet Fastening Systems offers two families of our redesigned automatic feed pneumatic installation tools: AKT2200 and ACT2100 Series. The AKT2200 series is for automated feeding of nuts and the ACT2100 series is for the automated feeding of frangible threaded collars used on hex-drive pins, such as the Hi-Lok™, Hi-Tigue™, Aero-Lite®, Veri-Lite® and Hi-Lite™ fastening systems.

Features:

• Nuts can be purchased on pre-loaded spindles that are inserted into the feed tubes.
• Collars are loaded on-site, and HFS can provide feeder bowls.
• There is a significant reduction in installation cycle times.
• A torque-control tool design allows for complete installation of nuts and is perfect for pre-torque collar applications.
• The tools are designed for K-Fast™ type nuts and reduced hex Hi-Lok™ collars but will work with most comparable nuts and collars.
• Current nut designs for 5/32 in. through 5/16 in. nut sizes and 1/4 in. through 5/16 in. collar sizes.