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Once limited by insufficient accuracy, the off-the-shelf industrial robot has been enhanced via the integration of secondary encoders at the output of each of its axes. This in turn with a solid mechanical platform and enhanced kinematic model enable on-part accuracies of less than +/−0.25mm. Continued development of this enabling technology has been demonstrated on representative surfaces of an aircraft fuselage. Positional accuracy and process capability was validated in multiple orientations both in upper surface (spindle down) and lower surface (spindle up) configurations. A second opposing accurate robotic drilling system and full-scale fuselage mockup were integrated to simulate doubled throughput and to demonstrate the feasibility of maintaining high on-part accuracy with a dual spindle cell.

Fuselage panels for the Boeing 747 aircraft have been assembled at the Northrop Commercial Aircraft Division Alameda (D2) facility since the mid 1960's. The assembly work has been accomplished using Gemcor CNC Drivmatic systems. These systems have performed reliably since their initial installation in the late 1960's, but have recently begun to show their age. In 1992, the decision was made to establish a project that would direct the retrofit of these systems to state-of-the-practice condition. This paper will discuss the planning, scheduling and specification development for that project.

One of the thrusts of the Advanced Integrated Fuel System (AIFS) initiative, sponsored by the Fuels Branch of the Aero and Propulsion Power Directorate at Wright Laboratories (WL/POSF) with partial funding from the United States Navy, is to realize the potential improvements in aircraft thermal management systems due to the 100 degrees F increase in fuel heat sink capacity of JP-8+100 fuel. This paper summarizes the conceptual design and top-level trade studies conducted by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) under an AIFS contract. These studies examined the air vehicle-level payoffs of JP-8+100 fuel applied to the (1) F/A-18C/D (representing an existing fleet aircraft), (2) F/A-18E/F (representing an aircraft currently under development), and (3) a more-electric aircraft/subsystem integration technology (MEA/SUIT) configured version of an F/A-18 (representing a future aircraft). The objectives and approaches of these studies are presented.