SECAMnida© JEC WORLD 2024
Revolutionizing sandwich panel fastening is the challenge successfully accomplished by the Haut-Savoie based company SECAM with its SECAMnida© insert.
Innovation is the trademark of SECAM Fixing Solutions,
the screws and inserts specialist for plastics, light alloys and composites in the HBP Group.
To discover on EUROPE TECHNOLOGIES booth 6B61 !
SECAMnida© is not just a potted insert for honeycomb sandwich panels. Its highly reliable technology revolutionizes installation.
This fastening has a reinforced locking thread and is crimped onto the upper skin of the sandwich panel by deformation of the part. This effective anchoring permanently holds the insert in position and means the panel can be handled without risk, unlike the current inserts which are held in place simply by a self-adhesive “positioning” tab and which can tip in their hole before or during the potting operation.
After crimping, the two-component potting compound can then be injected, and filling is accurately controlled by the filling indicator.
Whereas the current NAS inserts require seven operations to install them (drilling, trimming, etc.) and immobilisation of almost 24 hours for full curing, the insert SECAMnida© offers unrivalled efficiency :
It is fitted in only three steps, reducing the installation time from two minutes to thirty seconds, and the panel can be handled immediately to continue its manufacturing process.
AUTOMATION A SURE BET WITH GEBE2
The two industrialists began working together at the Paris-Le Bourget Air Show in 2019.
Aware of the difficulties and costs linked to automating the installation of NAS-type potted inserts, GEBE2 was seeking a reliable, economical solution.
An exclusive partnership agreement was signed to progress beyond the idea stage and produce a demonstrator. The study was launched and GEBE2 developed an all-in-one robotised effector able to drill, crimp, inject the potting compound and perform a fully automated final inspection.
The alliance between the two industrialists has led to a fully robotised solution for the installation of fastenings in all types of sandwich panel, both honeycomb and other.
It offers numerous advantages:
- Improved repeatability of the insert installation operation
- Automation of quality control
- Possibility to provide traceability of all the operations
- Versatility and adaptability of the system to the geometries of complex parts
