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Aerostructures assembly (ASA) is a vital process in any aircraft production phase that integrates individual detail parts, sub-assemblies, major assemblies, components, and systems into a final deliverable, a completed aircraft structure fit for flight. ASA in an aircraft’s entire product life cycle represents more than half the cost and time that is a significant portion of the total aircraft production cost. ASA depends on highly skilled manual labor work across the global aerospace supply chain for various assembly processes and subprocesses required for assembling detail parts into sub-assemblies and components to achieve the design intent of the load-carrying aerostructure that is airworthy for the complete operational cycle till disposal of an aircraft. The assembly processes can significantly impact quality, safety, and reliability and can affect an aircraft structure’s performance and design intent.

Aerospace engine parts are complex precision-engineered products with tighter assembly tolerances produced by conventional and non-conventional manufacturing processes. Variations in these manufacturing processes have to be controlled, process risks mitigated, and managed effectively, to facilitate the ease of aero-engine assembly to reduce overall variation and improve the assembly quality. One such technique is the application of the Selective Assembly as a Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) tool. The paper details the methodology of Selective Assembly, its applications, benefits, and limitations in the aerospace industry along with a framework case study with a focus on ease of assembly and meeting the design intent of the assembly fit with the detailed study on the current traditional assembly process.

The aerospace industry had recently initiated the journey towards the transition to the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) process, for the manufacturing and assembly process of their products in their supply chain, aiming to continually meet the rising delivery demand of the global aerospace industry and improve the quality and costs of current products and services. Of the various APQP process elements and requirements, one specific requirement is the application of Design For Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA®) guidelines, early in the product design and development phase, aiming to design, develop, and analyze the designs for effective and efficient product realization. These guidelines, though widely used, are fairly new for the aerospace industry, and there is no standard framework readily available to aerospace organizations for the successful deployment of these guidelines in the Aerospace APQP process.

The selection of aircraft consumable materials in aerospace manufacturing and assembly processes is a major customer design data-driven process, which is designed and developed early at the product design stages. With the rapid improvements in the aerospace manufacturing and assembly industry, these consumable material sources are prone to both obsolescence and counterfeit risks. Thus, aircraft design teams must carefully identify the selection of these materials and sources, which can provide products and services till the end of the product life cycle, which, if not, can impact both the design and the functional intent of the aircraft assembly. The study discusses the challenges faced in the current aerospace consumable industry and the opportunities for improvement in it.

An Aircraft’s assembly process plays a vital part in its design, development and production phases and contributes to about half of the Total cost spent in its entire product lifecycle. Design For Assembly (DFA®) principles have been one of the proven effective methodologies in Automotive and Process industries. Use of DFA® principles have resulted in proactively simplifying and optimizing engineering designs with reduced product costs, and improved efficiencies in product design and performance. Standardization of Assembly guidelines is vital for “Design and Build” and “Build-To-Print” manufacturing supplier organizations. However, Standardizing design methodologies, through use of proven tools like Advanced Product Quality Planning, (APQP) are still in the initial stages in Aerospace part and process design processes.

An aircraft’s detail part and assembly product design and development phase contribute to about three-fourths of the total cost spent in its entire product life cycle and determine the fate of the aircraft’s life as a whole. Each aerospace design organization presently has developed their own set of design rules, focusing on improving product design capability by enhancing the determined “Design for X” factor, with the focus on continual optimization and improvements. However there is huge variation among these design principles due to the nonstandardization of these design guidelines. To meet this gap, the use of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA®) principles applicable for aerospace has to be developed. DFMA®) principles have been proven effective as guidelines to designers and manufacturing engineers in various discrete manufacturing and process industries.

In Today’s World, Every Manufacturing and Service Industry aims in providing the Highest Quality of Products and Service at the lowest Competitive Cost and timely delivery to its Customers. The Discrete Aerospace Manufacturing and Assembly industry is taking initiatives to implement the Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (PFMEA) tool for its critical Aerospace Manufacturing and Assembly suppliers, by implementing Aerospace Standards, in an effort to create a synergy between the End user customers, Original Equipment manufacturers and the suppliers, for ensuring increased safety, quality, reliability for the Aircraft parts and components produced by them. The main aim is to use this concept as a Process Risk Management tool for Identification, Assessment, Mitigation, Control and Prevention of risks associated with Designs and Manufacturing.

Obsolescence Material management plays an important and vital role in today’s modern Aerospace manufacturing, Aerospace Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul industry as well as Aerospace Distributors. Aerospace vehicles have a considerable longer product life-cycle when compared to any other consumer goods like automobile and electronics industry. With the advent of new, disruptive technologies, many sources and supplies of materials including COTS and Standard catalogue parts, components and goods, which are widely used in an Aerospace manufacturing environment, are diminishing at a considerable rate and thus result in their obsolescence before the end disposal of the product life cycle. It is one of the leading causes to the sale of counterfeit and fraudulent parts and components, which can result in considerable deterioration of Quality and Cost to Customer.

Externally threaded fasteners such as HI-LOK™, HI-TIGUE™, and HI-LITE™ fasteners are used in Aerospace Industry for their light weight, high strength, and controlled preloaded designs. These pins are offered in a variety of head styles, materials, finishes, and coatings. The pins are easily installed from one side, by one person, and quietly without the conventional riveting noise. In the design specifications of these pins, there is a radius R provided under the head which is to be accounted during manufacturing. The head radius, R comes with a manufacturing tolerance of 0.015 to 0.025 inch for standard sizes of 5/32 inch and 0.020 to 0.030 inch for higher sizes for protruding heads and similarly vary from 0.020 to 0.030 inch for 5/32-inch flush head style. As a general assembly practice, it is essential to deburr the edge of the holes to accommodate the head radius of the pins.