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Recent changes in the aircraft production process forces us, as a supplier of aircraft assembly equipment, to design innovative and modular manufacturing equipment that complies with modern specifications. This is especially true of composite manufacturing processes in combination with new materials that are now under development. In some applications, the potential for optimizing existing manufacturing processes (e.g. Prepreg-technology) as related to quality improvements and cost reduction has reached their limit. Using optimized production processes like preforming and resin infusion could allow one to achieve considerable benefits. This paper describes the latest development of a robot cell for dry fiber placement. Our customer's application required a completely new type of end-effector and an extension of the proven high accuracy robot positioning system.

This paper describes the application of an automated process for installing dome-type pressure bulkheads into the rear section of widebody airplanes by use of a new CNC-controlled multi-axis drilling and two-piece fastener installation machine. The system basically consists of a DNC/CNC drilling and fastening machine and an assembly jig for the aircraft rear section. The workhead performing the drilling, sealant application and fastener installation travels on a circular ring around the fuselage section. The required counteraction force for installing the interference fit fasteners is provided by the support system, which works on the inner side of the fuselage. The purpose of the unit is to provide an automatic system with the goal of increasing the consistency of the quality of assembly by simultaneously reducing cost.