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Measurement assisted assembly is one of the key emerging technologies in airframe manufacture. The use of metrology to assist with the assembly process can significantly reduce the cost and complexity of the required fixtures as well as reducing manual labor input and assembly time. Most of the existing systems use a single metrology system but this paper describes the development and deployment of a network based system that allows the deployment of multiple metrology systems to support either a single task or multiple tasks simultaneously.

This paper describes the final development and testing of a combined riveting and assembly cell for the manufacture of Regional Jet Fuselage panels. The cell consists of three industrial robots, two are used for riveting whilst the third is used for stringer placement. The cell has been tested using both simplified test parts and real airframe components. The paper describes the development and testing of the cell along with the enabling technologies that have been implemented to realise the cell.

Transport is a significant contributor to global Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen Oxide emissions. The VITAL (Environmentally Friendly Aero Engine) project is an integrated project funded under the European Union Sixth Framework programme that aims to design, manufacture and test the critical technologies required to produce cleaner low noise aero-engines. In particular, it should develop innovative technical solutions to reduce the engine's weight, thereby reducing fuel consumption and hence Carbon Dioxide emission. Prime candidates for weight reduction are the engine casings and structures. One way of achieving this is to move from a casting based manufacturing method to a fabrication method. The use of fabrications for these types of structures is not new and was indeed the standard methodology for older engine types. It was however abandoned in favour of castings due to the high costs associated with the complex fixtures required and the significant manual labour input needed.

The traditional use of simulation software in aerospace manufacturing applications has been as a pre-production tool for the validation of tool paths and the generation of robot programs. Once the process has been proven via simulation, the data is then transferred to the machine or robot and the production process executed. This is a linear approach in which the virtual and real systems are operated independently and in a serial manner. The current capabilities of offline programming (OLP) and simulation systems when combined with appropriate hardware in a flexible manufacturing environment now allow them to be used right at the heart of a manufacturing process, as an integral part of the manufacturing route. In a flexible manufacturing cell such as that developed at the University of Nottingham for the automated assembly and riveting of large aerostructures, a key driver is the need to reduce or eliminate complex and costly jigs and fixtures for part positioning.