What sort of magical methods have you guys seen for placing fasteners in hard to reach places? Stuff we're using is austenitic stainless so a magnetized bit won't work.
Pic related is a quick mockup of a situation very similar to what I'm facing on a small assembly line I'm trying to improve.
Use a long bit and place it as vertically as possible so the bolt is held in place without extra support.
Alternatively you could make a "sleeve" that slides around each bolt's head with a rubber insert/gasket that provides enough friction to hold it in place while you insert it.
Just a regular nut driver and a grease blow. Or smash the end a bit so it holds.
Blob
what a shit design
whoever made that needs to be fired, shit like this is why modern cars are a nighmare to work on
I used to wonder if it was intentionally bad design or just stupidity. Pretty sure it’s intentional to make money on services
They have teams of diversity hires making things like a damn door latch and no one seems to even talk to each other.
Riv nut. Or Friction drill hole then tap
Sorry your engineers are moronic and don't spec this shit out
Oh pardon me. I didn't see the hex caps on that.
Go to McMastercar. You'll probably have it this week
you could literally make that on a lathe in 3 seconds with a cutoff tool or even a frickin file. if OP weren't such a gay, he already would have done this to an allen wrench
there is such a thing as a screw holding screwdriver. They are typically used by electrotonic techs to hold realy small shit, they are also usually for flat heads, unfortunately. They are available in other sizes and drive styles
They work very well. one brand is called quick wedge
Automation engineer here...
Blow feed it into a DC driver spindle. Put the spindle on a pneumatic Z-axis. In your case, the spindle jaws will need to be a long tube with tiny spring loaded jaws at the end.
Shit product design there, m8
NTP but I wish I understood what you mean. That’s a lot of words I can’t visualize.
Machine design engineer here. The part is referenced by 5000 drawings and an ecn to redesign the part will take 2 years. A design change is not feasible.
>Actual conversation I've overheard
I was a design engineer in a company like that, and our off-the-shelf expensive product vendors knew that too. Once their $3,000 camera is approved for use in a machine, they can manufacture that same exact camera forever without any work except increasing the pricetag.
I didn't know this when I started, so during a meeting with a Balluff salesman i just wondered out loud that "oh if only you guys made X then my job would be finished". That salesman told their engineers and they designed, manufactured, and sent me a brochure for the exact part i wanted lol. The project was placed on hold though and there was nothing I could do.
Long screwdriver
>Stuff we're using is austenitic stainless so a magnetized bit won't work.
Balance the screw on the end of a long screw driver and assemble vertically. Gravity isn't as strong as magnetism but it'll work in a pinch.
Use a Robertson
One of the features of a true Robertson driver is that ability to lock the screw to the driver.
Screw sleeves or a gooseneck. Don't expect ridiculous torque ability on them though. That blue tack stuff works sometimes too.
How many fasteners are you placing at once, and how many of these are you making?
Maybe you can make a template with the holes exactly placed to align with the ones inside the part. Drop the fasteners into the template (maybe line the holes with rubber grommets, to give it grip but not so firm it won't release when driven), and then drop the template into the part. All the fasteners perfectly aligned to tighten down.
You can get a bit holder for a drill that is like 1ft long. I use it for hard to reach situations for my drill. It's at all the big hardware stores.
>austenitic stainless
can still be gripped by an induced field
>magnets won't work
Just hold the bolt on with blu tak or adhesic putty
If the length is an issue use a long bit extender or make a custom long tool. I made a similar allan key tool from thin threaded rod at the end of last year. Took 20mins to grind the profile and weld a handle on
Why does it have to bolt down into the deep pocket? Why can't you bolt up into the deep pocket? Why does it have to be a bolt, why not weld it? Do you need to have the walls of the pocket solid? Can you move the bolt hole to a tab on the side?
Seems like a shit design.
is it sheet metal? Can you just insert the fasteners before bending?
You can also modify stud guns to shoot studs through a wire. It lets you get into tight spots.
Maybe a pop rivet would work. Maybe a small low profile clinchnut press would work.
Drive extension and duct tape. If you can use a socket on it put a paper towel in the socket and shove the bolt in there, it will hold it. No need for magnets.
If metal to metal can you spot weld it? No fasteners, reliable and quick.