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In large scale industries attempts are continuously being made to automate assembly processes to not only increase productivity but also alleviate non-ergonomic tasks. However this is not always technologically possible due to specific joining challenges and the high number of special-purpose parts. For the riveting process, for example, semi-automated approaches represent an alternative to optimizing aircraft assembly and to reduce the exposure of workers to non-ergonomic conditions entailed by performing repetitive tasks. In [1], a semi-automated solution is proposed for the riveting process of assembling the section barrel of the aft section to its pressure bulkhead. The method introduced a dynamic task sharing strategy between human and robot that implements interaction possibilities to establish a communication between a human and a robot in Human-Robot-collaboration fashion.

The global competition challenges aircraft manufactures in high wage countries. The assembly of large components is very difficult and distinguished by fixed position assembly. Many complex assembly processes such as aircraft assembly are manually done by highly skilled workers. The aircraft manufactures deal with a varying number of items, increasing number of product variants and strict product requirements. During the assembly process hundreds of clips, ties and stringers as well as thousands of rivets must be assembled. To remain competitive in global competition, companies in high wage countries like Germany must insure a continuously high productivity and quality level. To achieve a reduction of cycle times with a simultaneous increase in quality, supportive assistance systems for visual support, documentation and organization within the assembly are required. One example for visual assistance systems are laser projection systems.

Assembly processes in aircraft production are difficult to automate due to technical risks. Examples of such technical challenges include small batch sizes and large product dimensions as well as limited work space for complex joining processes and organization of the assembly tasks. A fully automated system can be expensive and requires a large amount of programming knowledge. For these reasons, ZeMA believes a semi-automated approach is the most effective means of success for optimizing aircraft production. Many methods can be considered semi automation, one of which is Human-Robot-Collaboration. ZeMA will use the example of a riveting process to measure the advantages of Human-Robot-Collaboration systems in aircraft structure assembly. In the assembly of the aircraft aft section the pressure bulkhead is mounted with a barrel section using hundreds of rivets. This assembly process is a non-ergonomic and burdensome task in which two humans must work cooperatively.

The global competition challenges aircraft manufacturers in high wage countries. The assembly of large components happens manually in fixed position assembly. Especially the completion of the inner fuselage structure is done 100% manually. The shells have to be joined with rivets and several hundred clips have to be assembled to connect the shell to the frames. The poise of the worker is not ergonomic so a lot of physical stress is added to the worker and minimizes the working ability. Aircraft manufacturers need a lot of different production resources and qualified persons for the production, which provokes higher costs. Due to these high costs there is a demand for automated reconfigurable assembly systems, which offer a high flexibility and lower manufacturing costs. The research project “IProGro” deals with this challenge and develops innovative production systems for large parts.

Aircraft production is facing various technical challenges, such as large product dimensions, complex joining processes and the organization of assembly tasks. Meeting the requirements that come with large dimensions, low tolerances and small batch sizes, in combination with complex joining processes, automation and labor-intensive inspection task, is often difficult to achieve in an economically viable way. ZeMA believes that a semi-automated approach is the most effective for optimizing aircraft section assembly. An effective optimization of aircraft production can be achieved with a semi-automated riveting process for solid rivets using Human-Robot-Collaboration in combination with an intuitive Human-Machine-Interaction operating concept. While using dynamic task sharing between human and robot based on their skills, and considering ergonomics, the determined ideal solution involves placing a robot inside the section barrel.

The automation of assembly processes in aircraft production is, due to technological and organizational boundary conditions, very difficult and is subject to technological challenges and economical risks. The technological challenges are especially the large product dimensions as well as the high amount of variants. At the same time, aircrafts are produced in low quantities with inflexible and expensive fixtures. As part of the research projects TRSE (semi-automated robot welding for single item production) and 4by3 (Modularity, Safety, Usability, Efficiency by Human-Robot-Collaboration) at ZeMA, the goal is to develop new process technologies, planning tools and adequate equipment in order to enable efficient and customized automation for various production processes. The human-robot-cooperation is an approach to a required, adjusted and flexible automation. Worker and robot work together without a separating protection device in an overlapping workspace.