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Design and production of an assembly system for a major aircraft component is a complex undertaking, which demands a large-scale system view. Electroimpact has completed a turnkey assembly line for producing the wing, flap, and aileron structures for the COMAC C919 aircraft in Xi’an, China. The project scope includes assembly process design, material handling design, equipment design, manufacture, installation, and first article production support. Inputs to the assembly line are individual component parts and small subassemblies. The assembly line output is a structurally completed set of wing box, flaps, and ailerons, for delivery to the Final Assembly Line in Shanghai. There is a trend toward defining an assembly line procurement contract by production capacity, versus a list of components, which implies that an equipment supplier must become an owner of production processes.

Electroimpact has developed a system for drilling and fastening of cargo door structures which efficiently addresses many of the manufacturing challenges that such parts present. Challenges to door automation include 1) the presence of an inner skin that must be processed, in addition to the outer skin, and 2) a stiff frame structure, which makes the clamping and drilling processes that are typical to automated fastening machines very unforgiving of any errors in workpiece positioning. In this case, the manufacturing cell was to be installed in an existing facility with very limited ceiling height, further complicating the system and process design. New methods were devised to solve these problems, and the solutions found will likely have utility in future applications.

There is an ever-present risk for the lower ram on a riveting machine to suffer a damaging collision with aircraft parts during automated fastening processes. The risk intensifies when part frame geometry is complex and fastener locations are close to part features. The lower anvil must be led through an obstructive environment, and there is need for crash protection during side-to-side and lowering motion. An additional requirement is stripping bolt collars using the downward motion of the lower ram, which can require as much as 2500 pounds of pulling force. The retention force on the lower anvil would therefore need to be in excess of 2500 pounds. To accomplish this a CNC controlled electromagnetic interface was developed, capable of pulling with 0-3400 pounds. This electromagnetic safety base releases when impact occurs from the sides or during downward motion (5 sided crash protection), and it retains all riveting and bolting functionality.

Aircraft assembly systems which require tooling or machinery to pulse or move between multiple positions within a factory can be positioned with high repeatability without high performance foundations or sweeping out large areas of floorspace. An example shows a system of large left and right-hand frames which are positioned at 3 sequential manufacturing steps and then recirculated to the start of production via a central return aisle. The frames are 41 ton actual weight and are 72′ long, similar to a rail car. The system achieves rectangular motion for the recirculation path. The supporting and moving system incorporates low-cost rail in a floor with minimal preparation and simple to use controls. The system is also easily reconfigured if the manufacturing system needs to be altered to meet rate or flow requirements.

Electroimpact's newest riveting machine features a track-style injector with Bomb Bay Ejection Doors. The Bomb Bay Ejection Doors are a robust way to eject fasteners from track style injector. Track style injectors are commonly used by Electroimpact and others in the industry. Using the Bomb Bay Doors for fastener ejection consists of opening the tracks allowing very solid clearing of an injector when ejecting a fastener translating to a more reliable fastener delivery system. Examples of when fastener ejection is needed are when a fastener is sent backwards, when there are two in the tube, or when a machine operator stops or resets the machine during a fastening cycle. This method allows fasteners to be cleared in nearly every situation when ejecting a fastener is required. Additional feature of Electroimpact's new injection system is integrated anvil tool change.

A frame-clip riveting end effector has been developed for installing 3.97mm (5/32) and 4.6mm (3/16) universal head aluminum rivets. The end effector can be mounted on the end of a robot arm. The end effector provides 35.6 kNt (8000 lbs) of rivet upset. Rivets can be installed fifteen millimeters from the IML. The clearance allowed to rivet centerline is 150 millimeters. The riveting process features a unique style of rivet fingers for the universal head rivet. These fingers allow the rivet to be brought in with the ram. This differentiates from some styles of frame-clip end effectors in which the rivet is blown into the hole. The paper shows the technical components of the end effector in sequence: the pneumatic clamp, rivet insert and upset. The end effector will be used for riveting shear ties to frames on the IML of fuselage panels.

Manufacturing C cross-sectional components with high aspect ratios out of carbon fiber reinforced composites is desirable by the aircraft industry. Modular AFP heads with short, fixed tow path have the fundamental performance characteristics required to successfully and productively automate the production of these part families. Aircraft parts in this family include wing spars, stringers, and fuselage frames.