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Technology update
Robotic wing assembly
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The wing box assembly at BAE Systems.
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As part of the second phase of the Automated Wing Box Assembly program,
which was launched in 1995, a consortium of UK specialist companies led
by BAE Systems is developing an automated wing assembly system
demonstrator to assemble what they believe is the most challenging part
of the wing - the root end. Phase I, which was funded through the DTI
CARAD program, was completed last year and identified a number of "key
technology" requirements needed for automation of large wing assemblies.
BAE Systems is providing the wingbox design, a dedicated building for
the demonstrator, assembly hardware, and overall project management.
"The underlying methodology behind the assemblage of Airbus wings has
remained relatively unchanged from the A300, in 1969, to the present
A340," said Raj Mistry, BAE Systems Airbus Assembly Technologies Group
Leader. "In order to improve competitiveness in the future, it will be
necessary to reduce costs and increase flexibility in manufacture."
UK Robotics in Manchester, UK, is in the process of creating a robot that
can reach inside the wing and deploy a special swaging tool to fasten
the wing box to the skin. However, the robot must have an accuracy of
less than a millimeter and be able to carry a load of 50 kg.
To meet these requirements, the company is working with BAE Systems'
Sowerby Research Center, Leica, and AMTRI. Sowerby is designing a robot
system that will carry out external drilling of the wing before
fastening. AEA Technology (AEAT) will be providing the force feedback
control of the "drill and feed" operation. AEAT is developing software
that will be able to provide fine control over the drill torque, speed,
feed, and breakthrough, ensuring an extremely accurate fastener hole.
Leica developed a laser tracking system that allows the robots to discern
when they have reached a specific point. The system can follow a moving
retro-reflector, measuring its 3-D position 1000 times a second. The
system, which only detects change in position, provides the absolute
distance to the target by initiating measurement from a point of known
distance.
UK Robotics' internal robot will employ a sensor to guide it precisely
to the fastener before carrying out the swaging. The robot features the
company's Advanced Teleoperated Controller, which offers flexibility and
intuitiveness to the system.
Both UK Robotics and Sowerby's robots will be served by AMTRI's
rib-carrying and -placing robot. AMTRI is also providing the main
gantry system, as well as a skin-wrapping system.
Although these systems have not been physically integrated, a 3-D
simulation using Tecnomatix Robcad and Dynamo software was performed
to validate the concept. Kinematics for the automated hardware and the
robots' off-line programming are currently being developed.
"There are hundreds of thousands of fasteners in each wing," explained
Mistry. "Our challenge is to get the assembly time down by one-third.
By allowing the assembly to influence the wing design, we design the
solutions in at the start and we should reap the benefits in terms of
reduced lead times, improved cycle times, and lower manufacturing cost.
This isn't a minor change in manufacturing philosophy, but an attempt to
look at aerospace manufacturing in a totally new and radical way."
Frank Bokulich
Aerospace Engineering August 2000
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