The use of paint automation in commercial aircraft production is being studied to reduce process cycle times, provide a higher quality paint finish, lower emissions, and increase process consistency. ....
Very large multi-axis CNC machines offer a special challenge for efficient and accurate machine compensation. Aerospace applications demand tight tolerances, but conventional compensation methods beco....
Due to the recent increase of fuel price, the Aerospace Industry has extended its focus on reducing airplane structure weight by using more Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer/Plastics (CFRP). The majorit....
In Aeronautic industry, when we launch a new industrialization for an aircraft sub assembly we always have the same questions in mind for drilling operations, especially when focusing on lean manufact....
The main difficulties in machining composites and titanium are the excessive abrasive nature of the composite material and the poor thermal conductivity of titanium. When composites are combined with ....
Drilling of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) components in aircraft production presents many challenges. Factors including layup material, layup process, layup orientation, hole tolerance, surfa....
This article characterises the special features of drilling of CFRP/Titanium and -Aluminium stacks. Simplified theoretic models will show how CFRP/Titanium stacks should be machined without scratches ....
PFD 1500 is a positive feed drill developed to offer process enhancement possibilities and cost savings both when drilling blank aluminum and stacks with CFRP and titanium. The design concept is compl....
The foundation of many production aircraft assembly facilities is a more dynamic and unpredictable quantity than we would sometimes care to admit. Any tooling structures constructed on these floors, n....
This paper presents a model of semi-quantitative analysis for risks and their associated impact caused by aeronautical suppliers in charge of specific work-packages (WP). Considering that many approac....
The Efficient Assembly, Integration & Test (EAIT) team at Boeing Research & Technology, Boeing's central technology organization, is working on multiple implementations of Augmented Reality to aid ass....
Significant effort has been applied to the introduction of automation for the structural assembly of aircraft. However, the equipping of the aircraft with internal services such as hydraulics, fuel, b....
Parallel kinematic mechanisms (PKMs) offer advantages of high stiffness to mass ratios, greater potential for accuracy and repeatability, and lower cost when compared to traditional assembly machines.....
The general benefits of automation are well documented. Order of magnitude improvements are achievable in processing speeds, production rates, and efficiency. Other benefits include improved process c....
This paper examines issues related to planning, programming and execution of machining operations by a robot in the context of machining large parts with complex geometries by a gantry-mounted robotic....
Current offline-programming (OLP) solutions are rather generic and support the user just in positioning of the robot on point-by-point bases with a virtual teach-in like approach. Support of the user ....
Industrial requirements imply optimizing the development cycle, reducing manufacturing costs and reaching marketable product maturity as fast as possible. The design stage often involves multiple site....
Electroimpact Automatic Fiber Placement (AFP) machines lay-up composite parts by accurately placing carbon fiber tow (strips of impregnated carbon fiber) on a mold. In order to achieve high accuracy a....
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 th....
A nutation damper was developed for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) program. The passive damper is fully filled with a custom-blended silicone and comprised of 1-inch titanium tubing formed int....
