US 12,247,604 B1
Method and system with acceleration based flow drill screw control
Nicholas Dornik, Canton, MI (US); Garret Sankey Huff, Ann Arbor, MI (US); and Amanda Kay Freis, Ann Arbor, MI (US)
Assigned to Atlas Copco IAS GmbH, Bretten (DE)
Filed by Atlas Copco IAS GmbH, Bretten (DE)
Filed on Sep. 13, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/466,775.
Int. Cl. B21J 15/02 (2006.01); F16B 25/10 (2006.01)
CPC F16B 25/10 (2013.01) [B21J 15/02 (2013.01); B21J 15/027 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of installing a flow drill screw (FDS) into a substrate, the method comprising:
engaging the FDS with an automatic tool;
operating the automatic tool at a first setting to drive the FDS into the substrate by causing flow of the substrate to permit the FDS to penetrate the substrate, the first setting being configured to rotate the FDS at a first rotational speed and to apply a first axial feed force on the FDS, the first setting being configured to cause flow of the substrate to permit the FDS to penetrate the substrate;
determining axial acceleration data; and
switching the automatic tool from the first setting to a second setting in response to a controller analyzing the axial acceleration data and determining whether a predetermined threshold acceleration value of the FDS has been met, wherein the second setting is configured to rotate the FDS at a second rotational speed and to apply a second axial feed force to the FDS, wherein the second rotational speed is less than the first rotational speed.