Smart Torque Tube for Military Vehicle Assembly

The client needed a system to safely absorb the reactive forces from a bracket fastening process while tracking the tooltip to minimize errors.

GCI designed a smart torque reaction tube with the AdaptiCS® smart system for error proofing. Data sent from encoders on the overhead bridge, runway, tube rotation, and tool sleeve feed into AdaptiCS® to calculate a precise tooltip location. The tooltip location can then be used to enforce specific fastening locations and sequences.

Regarding safety, the system is designed to absorb the reactive torque forces whenever the tool is activated. The BEV (Brake Engagement Verification) circuit detects the tool remote start handle button is pressed, activates the brakes to lock the system in place, verifies each brake engaged properly, and then activates the tool. This helps to ensure the tool is not activated until the system is ready and it all happens in a fraction of second.

With this setup, the operator doesn’t have to worry forgetting to switch on the brakes or torquing the correct fastener. The system assists the operator through the entire process.