Clip Installation Machine Systems

Clip attachments are a novel way to assemble removable parts together where you don’t need the higher strength or cost of threaded fasteners. Clips are used anywhere a light-duty, low-load panel, cover or fastening point is needed. Common applications span the automotive, medical equipment, consumer appliance, electronics and commercial machinery industries. In automotive manufacturing alone, clips are used to attach all types of trim panels, framed fabrics, bezels, light diffusers, wire harnesses, aesthetic accessories and much more. Similar applications outside of automotive include side panels for laundry appliances, screen bezels around TVs and bump guards on medical crash carts.

By their design, clips rely on friction, compression, tension or shear interference to make their connections. Given the forces and temperatures involved with automotive applications, typically only friction and edge shear connection styles made of metal or high-density plastic clip materials are acceptable. That leaves us with the most common types of clips used in automotive applications as arrowhead, fir tree, edge bite, pinch, ring, stud-mount and wire retainer clip types. Over the long history of the auto industry, vehicle OEMs have designed thousands of unique clip designs and hundreds of naming conventions, so don’t be surprised if any of these types don’t sound familiar: You might just know them by another name.

Automated clip installation machines mechanize the placement and insertion of clips.  Instead of manual processes, clip machines use robotic fixtures and tooling to hold clips, orient them to their connection points on an assembly, move and press the clips into position, and confirm that the clips are properly attached upon completion. Advanced sensors and motion actuators align and press clips into place precisely to specification, and can print off quality control reports afterward that document that these specifications were fully achieved.

Modern automated clip attachment machines can complete hundreds of clip insertions each hour, around the clock and with limited human involvement. PLC-controlled clipping sequences and onboard sensors ensure that clips are inserted correctly, catching any rare mis-installations immediately to avoid downstream rework. Operators can load machines very quickly, allowing one operator to manage multiple machines concurrently. And as production requirements change, automated clip machines can be easily reconfigured to work with updated clip styles, part layouts, production rates and design complexities (such as adding ultrasonic staking capabilities).

Poka-yoke protections are extra steps added to a production process that seek to make errors impossible or near impossible. For automatic clip machines, there are a few key ways to automate out errors. Two-handed start buttons are used to assure that operators have both hands out of harm’s way before starting up a machine. Magnetic clip holders and clip position sensors make sure that all clips are loaded before starting insertion, as well as confirm clips are properly inserted upon completion. Lastly, motion interlocks are included to automatically halt the machine if any unexpected resistance, movement or other adverse conditions are detected.