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Customer had problems refurbishing the flex couplings on APU duct assemblies (BOEING PN: S355T310-1). Monel rivet removal was time consuming and Inconel parts were regularly cracked during disassembly.
PPedm designed and constructed an APU duct fixture for use with E-Drill. The fixture is designed to fill a number of tasks:
1. Hold and clamp the duct during disassembly.
2. Align with the rivet head on the underside of the flange joint, so that cutting (from the tail side) is concentric with the rivet stem.
3. Guide the E-Drill during cutting.
4. Provide support for the flange during cutting and punch-out.
The bridge can be configured in either direction to suit the flange being worked on.
Using the E-Drill and this fixture, removal of the 16 solid monel rivets was completed in less than 30 minutes, and damage from rivet removal was eliminated. The Duct fixture is order #EDT0901 and is priced @ $5,000. Payback is estimated to be 5 assemblies or less!