Browse Topic: Drilling

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On-Line Pose Measurement and Adjustment of End Effector Based on Laser Tracker for Robotic Drilling System2023-01-098203/07/2023
Tang, Yue, Zheng, Jinhui, Zhang, Mao
Development of a Non-Parametric Robot Calibration Method to Improve Drilling Accuracy2021-01-000303/02/2021
The drilling of large quantities of repetitive holes during the manufacture of large aerospace components is often considered a key limiting factor with regards to production efficiency. Whilst the desire within aerospace is to use relatively cheap six axis robot arms with drilling end effector units, their poor accuracy remains an obstacle. Robot calibration presents a way of improving robot accuracy such that aerospace drilling tolerances can be met, without permanently committing metrology equipment to an automation cell during production. Extensive research has been conducted into robot calibration by correcting the kinematic model, known as parametric calibration. This method is highly complex, and calibrates the robot across the entire working volume. This is often not required in industrial drilling applications, as drilling routines are often contained within a smaller volume of the robot reach. In this paper, a non-parametric method of robot calibration is proposed. This
Scraggs, Chris, Smith, Thomas, Sawyer, Daniela, Davis, Matthew
A Novel Approach to Dynamic Contact Analysis in the Course of Aircraft Assembly Simulation2021-01-000403/02/2021
A new numerical approach is proposed for studying possible vibrations caused by drilling during the assembly of aircraft structures. It is based on modelling of the stress-strain state of assembled structures by solving the corresponding transient contact problem. This approach is intended for fast dynamic analysis of the structure in the drilling area. It includes a time discretization algorithm, a special reduction technique and a reformulation of contact problem in terms of quadratic programming. The high speed of the algorithm allows one to combine the non-stationary calculations with variation analysis in order to check the possible deviations in the shape of assembled parts. The proposed approach is validated by commercial software and it is also applied for analysis of a test problem.
Vasiliev, Alexey, Minevich, Olga, Lapina, Evgeniia, Shinder, Julia, Lupuleac, Sergey, Barboule, Joel
Advances in Drilling with PCD (Polycrystalline Diamond)2020-01-003503/10/2020
PCD properties were optimized to drill stacks of CFRP/Ti using an accelerated wear test milling gray cast iron. The optimized PCD was then used to prepare PCD drills. Tests were made to determine the best drilling conditions for the optimized PCD. The results yielded a significant improvement in cycle times as compared to earlier studies using PCD drills. Notched PCD cutting edges were found to eliminate oversizing of the CFRP near the interface of the two materials.
Bunting, Jeremy, Bunting, John
Case Study on the Challenges and Responses of a Large Turnkey Assembly Line for the C919 Wing2020-01-001003/10/2020
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. The most significant challenge faced was the amount of front end engineering work required to develop
Forbes, Mark
Tool Wear Analysis on Drilling Process of Inconel 718 Superalloy2020-01-003403/10/2020
The Inconel 718 is an alloy based on nickel of high thermal and mechanical resistance, which allows its wide application in the aerospace industry, being generally implemented in aircraft tail cone and engine components. On the other hand, these features become a recurring problem when the machining of this material is performed. For example, in the drilling process of this superalloy, the cutting tools used exhibit excessive wear due to the high temperature and pressure at the cutting edge. However, there are numerous parameters that can influence the cutting tool life, and when analyzed and well defined, determine the types of modifications needed to enable less wear, and consequently an increase of its useful life in service. Given this context and knowing that the study of tool life in the Inconel 718 drilling process is extremely relevant in the aerospace sector, this paper presents a wear study in order to evaluate the behavior of different types of cutting tools used to drill
Barros, Pedro Cabegi, Barbosa, Gustavo Franco, Ventura, Carlos Eiji Hirata, Santos, Gustavo Roberto
Improving Robotic Accuracy through Iterative Teaching2020-01-001403/10/2020
Industrial robots have been around since the 1960s and their introduction into the manufacturing industry has helped in automating otherwise repetitive and unsafe tasks, while also increasing the performance and productivity for the companies that adopted the technology. As the majority of industrial robotic arms are deployed in repetitive tasks, the pose accuracy is much less of a key driver for the majority of consumers (e.g. the automotive industry) than speed, payload, energy efficiency and unit cost. Consequently, manufacturers of industrial robots often quote repeatability as an indication of performance whilst the pose accuracy remains comparatively poor. Due to their lack in accuracy, robotic arms have seen slower adoption in the aerospace industry where high accuracy is of utmost importance. However if their accuracy could be improved, robots offer significant advantages, being comparatively inexpensive and more flexible than bespoke automation. Extensive research has been
Sawyer, Daniela, Tinkler, Lloyd, Roberts, Nathan, Diver, Ryan
Advances in Drilling with PCD (Polycrystalline Diamond)2020-01-003503/10/2020
PCD properties were optimized to drill stacks of CFRP/Ti using an accelerated wear test milling gray cast iron. The optimized PCD was then used to prepare PCD drills. Tests were made to determine the best drilling conditions for the optimized PCD. The results yielded a significant improvement in cycle times as compared to earlier studies using PCD drills. Notched PCD cutting edges were found to eliminate oversizing of the CFRP near the interface of the two materials.
Bunting, Jeremy, Bunting, John
In-Process Hole and Fastener Inspection Using a High-Accuracy Laser Sensor2020-01-001503/10/2020
Electroimpact has produced a new in-process inspection system for use on drilling and fastening systems. The system uses a high-accuracy, non-contact, laser system to measure the flushness of installed fasteners. The system is also capable of measuring part normality and providing feedback to the machine for correction. One drawback to many automatic inspection systems is measurement error. Many sources of measurement error exist in a production environment, including drilling chips, lubrication, and fastener head markings. Electroimpact’s latest system can create a visualization of the measured fastener for the operator to interpret. This allows the operator to determine the cause of a failed measurement, thus reducing machine downtime due to false negatives.
Luker, Zachary, Stansbury, Erin
NASA's Thirst for Water on Mars Quenched by Student InnovatorsTBMG-3579401/01/2020
Protolabs Maple Plain, MN
Optimization of Automated Airframe Assembly Process on Example of A350 S19 Splice Joint2019-01-188209/16/2019
The paper presents the numerical approach to simulation and optimization of A350 S19 splice assembly process. The main goal is to reduce the number of installed temporary fasteners while preventing the gap between parts from opening during drilling stage. The numerical approach includes computation of residual gaps between parts, optimization of fastener pattern and validation of obtained solution on input data generated on the base of available measurements. The problem is solved with ASRP (Assembly Simulation of Riveting Process) software. The described methodology is applied to the optimization of the robotized assembly process for A350 S19 section.
Lupuleac, Sergey, Shinder, Julia, Churilova, Maria, Zaitseva, Nadezhda, Khashba, Valeriia, Bonhomme, Elodie, Montero-Sanjuan, Pedro
New Technologies for Airframe Structural Assemblies2019-01-191509/16/2019
With air traffic demand constantly increasing and several years of aircraft production in their backlog, major aircraft manufacturers are now shifting their focus toward improving assembly process efficiency. One of the most promising solutions, known as “One Side Assembly”, aims to perform the whole assembly sequence from one side of the structure (drilling, temporary fastener installation and removal, blind fastener installation, assembly control) and with a high level of integrated automation. Investments in robotic equipment, automation engineering and innovation are very active and automation capabilities have already increased a lot in the aerospace industry. As an example, drilling operations for large dimensions airframe are clearly moving from manual to automated. However, despite more and more clever and sophisticated robotics, the use of historical fasteners with two side installation method remains a strong limitation to innovative automated assembly sequences. A blind
Dahane, Mehdi
Automatic Drilling and Fastening System for Large Aircraft Doors2019-01-134603/19/2019
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.
Bigoney, Burton
Leading Edge Assembly Real Time Process Monitoring Using Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)2019-01-136703/19/2019
The increasing global demand for commercial aircraft creates many new challenges in manufacturing including an increased need to maximize the automation of manufacturing processes. The purpose of this research is to develop the understanding of leading edge assembly processes using robot mounted tooling and an automated fixture with advanced process monitoring. Within this research real-time process monitoring data is acquired from an assembly operation and processed into an open cloud environment enabling advanced data analytics. Implementation of advanced analytics utilising process data could be developed for the use of machine learning algorithms which can lead to superior fault finding. The aim of this research is to improve product quality, reduce cost and increase process knowledge, enabling the potential for maximized online and offline process feedback. This paper details how an open Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environment can be used to interface with a number of
Janik, Karol, Thompson, Ian, Walley, Gareth, Land, Patrick, Suwala, Agata
Power RACe2019-01-134503/19/2019
Ever increasing process applications inspire us to design innovative and modular manufacturing cells in compliance with modern specifications. The result is the new highly flexible Aerospace application specific robot introduced as the “POWER RACe”. This paper describes how benchmarks for flexible automated drilling and fastening are being achieved with the Power RACe technology platform.
Dillhoefer, Thorsten, Erdinc PhD, Fatih
A High Reliable Automated Percussive Riveting System for Aircraft Assembly2019-01-133503/19/2019
Percussive riveting is a widely used way of fastening in the field of aircraft assembly, which used to be done manually. Nowadays, replacing the traditional percussive riveting with automated percussive riveting becomes a trend worldwide, which improves the quality of riveting significantly. For the automated riveting system used in aircraft assembly, reliability is of great importance, deserving to be deeply researched and fully enhanced. In this paper, a high reliable automated percussive riveting system integrated into a dual robot drilling and riveting system is proposed. The riveting system consists of the hammer part and the bucking bar part. And both parts have been optimized to enhance the reliability. In the hammer side, proximity switches are fully used to detect the state of rivet insertion. In the bucking bar side, a reliable step height measurement system is integrated to measure the exposed shank length of the rivet before riveting and the upsetting head height after
Fan, Yunfei, Yu, Long, Zhang, Yilian, Bi, Qingzhen, Wang, Yuhan
Restricted Access ‘C’ Clamping Smart Drilling Unit2019-01-133403/19/2019
One way assembly of aero structures has the potential to significantly reduce build times. One of the solutions, which goes towards achieving this philosophy, is the use of a ‘C’ clamping automated drilling system. The Manufacturing Technology Centre has developed and manufactured a ‘C’ clamping automated drilling unit to overcome many of the limitations of current designs, which prevent their use on a broader range of structures. The drilling unit addresses issues with access, size and weight restrictions as well as economic factors. This technical paper will present the outcomes from the design and manufacture of the drilling unit that is to be used within restricted access areas, as either a hand held device or as a robotic end effector free from any cables or hoses, allowing full and unhindered articulation of any robot motion. The device’s services: power, tool lubrication, swarf extraction and control systems have been designed to be embedded, rendering it a standalone unit. With
Suwala, Agata, Land, Patrick, Janik, Karol, Kasler, Richard
Single-Hole Asymmetric GDI Injector: Influence of the Drill Angle and the Counter-Bore under Flash-Boiling and Non-Flash-Boiling Conditions2018-01-028804/03/2018
Sac-type nozzles, which are often used in gasoline direct injection (DI), induce asymmetry to the spray. The drill angle, that is, the angle between the axis of the nozzle and the axis of the injector, is one of the key causes of the asymmetric flow. Despite its significance, the influence of the drill angle on spray is poorly understood. In the current work, a parametric study has been carried out using single-hole sac-type nozzles by varying the drill angle. The drill angle was varied from a value of 0° to 45° in steps of 15°. Apart from the geometric variation, the ambient pressure and the fuel temperature were varied to achieve flash-boiling and non-flash-boiling spray conditions. Simulations were carried out using an in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver that accounts for thermodynamic non-equilibrium coupled with a liquid-gas interface-area-density transport model to account for primary atomization of the fuel. The spray angle was calculated on the basis of a
Rachakonda, Sampath K., Paydarfar, Arman, Schmidt, David
Mechanical Strength and Failure Mode of Flow Drill Screw Joints in Coach-Peel Specimens of Aluminum 6082-T6 Sheets of Different Thicknesses and Processing Conditions2018-01-011604/03/2018
The mechanical strength and failure mode of flow drill screw (FDS) joints in coach-peel specimens of aluminum 6082-T6 sheets of three different thicknesses of 2.5, 2.8 and 3.0 mm and three different processing conditions under quasi-static loading conditions are investigated by experiments. The experimental results indicate that the mechanical strength and failure mode of FDS joints in coach-peel specimens are affected by the specimen thickness, clearance hole and stripping. The maximum load of a coach-peel specimen with an FDS joint with clearance hole increases as the thickness increases. For each of the thickness groups of 2.5, 2.8 and 3.0 mm, the maximum load of a coach-peel specimen with an FDS joint without clearance hole is lower than that with clearance hole. For the thickness group of 2.8 mm, the maximum load of a coach-peel specimen with a stripped FDS joint with clearance hole is lower than those of non-stripped ones with and without clearance hole. The FDS joints in coach
Huang, Chien-Po, Chen, Wei-Ning, Sung, Shin-Jang, Pan, Jwo
Automotive Pipe FittingsJ530_201803 (Historical)03/18/2018
This SAE Standard includes complete general and dimensional specifications for those types of pipe fittings commonly used in the automotive and other mass production industries where the use of lubricants or sealers is objectionable. The automotive pipe fittings shown in Figures 1 to 17 and Tables 1 to 6 are intended for general automotive and similar applications involving low or medium pressures or in conjunction with automotive tube fittings in piping systems.
Air Brake Tubing and Tube Ftg Committee
Neighboring Mobile Robot Cell with Drilling and Fastening2017-01-209409/19/2017
Electroimpact, in collaboration with Boeing, has developed an advanced robotic assembly cell, dubbed “The Quadbots.” Using Electroimpact’s patented Accurate Robot technology and multi-function end effector (MFEE), each robot can drill, countersink, inspect hole quality, apply sealant, and insert fasteners into the part. The cell consists of 4 identical machines simultaneously working on a single section of the Boeing 787 fuselage, two on the left, and two on the right. These machines employ “collision avoidance” a new feature in their software to help them work more synchronously. The collision avoidance software uses positional feedback from external safety rated encoders mounted to the motors on the robot. From this feedback, safe spaces, in the form of virtual boundaries can be created. Such that a robot will stop and wait if the adjacent robot is in, or going to move into its programmed work envelope. Another feature of the collision avoidance is to limit robot speeds when they are
Everhart, Tyler
Power RACe2017-01-209309/19/2017
Ever increasing process applications inspire us, as suppliers of aircraft, structural-assembly, and equipment to design innovative and modular, manufacturing cells in compliance with modern specification. The result is the new highly flexible Aerospace application specific robot identified as “POWER RACe”. This paper describes how benchmarks for flexible automated drilling and fastening are being achieved with the Power RACe technology platform.
Dillhoefer, Thorsten
LISI#OneSide, a Set of Solutions for Efficient Blind Fastener Installation2017-01-209809/19/2017
With air traffic demand constantly increasing and several years of aircraft production in their backlog, major aircraft manufacturers are now shifting their focus toward improving assembly process efficiency. One of the most promising solutions, known as “One Side Assembly”, aims to perform the whole assembly sequence from one side of the structure (drilling, temporary fastener installation and removal, blind fastener installation, assembly control) and with a high level of integrated automation. A one-sided, or blind fastener that is capable of matching the performance of current two-sided structural fasteners while meeting volume and cost objectives can be a major driver for assembly process efficiency improvements. To achieve a blind fastener assembly capable of both fully automated and manual installations while providing robust cycle times and assembly cost reductions is full of challenges. Figure 1 OPTIBLINDTM fasteners family The first key challenge to overcome is at the
Friot, Didier, Meiffre, Loic, Vandaele, Christophe
Analytical Study on Delamination Drilling and Milling of Composite Material and Related Composite Metal Stacks2017-01-208709/19/2017
This article characterizes the special features of machining composite in comparison to machining metal. Simplified theoretic models will demonstrate how CFRP should be machined without delamination, burn marks and cutting tool breakages. Different strategies can be chosen depending on the material removal rate. The paper will present, based on this analytical approach, how milling cutters should be designed for optimal trimming, and how a drill should be designed in order to avoid the entrance, inner and exit delamination. While entrance and exit delamination is well understood, the paper will focus more to the delamination inside the bore. The appearance and the avoidance of the so called "Volcano Effect" and the reason why holes in composite becomes smaller after a couple of days will be explained. The comparison between 4 different cutting tool technologies will prove and give a better understanding how to use this theoretical approach.
Mueller-Hummel, Peter, Hjorten, Alex
Collaborative Robot Applications at GKN Aerospace’s Fokker Business2017-01-209109/19/2017
The use of Collaborative Robots (Cobots) is an emerging technology that is developing at a fast pace. Within GKN Aerospace’s Fokker business a project is initiated to accelerate knowledge of application of this technology. Goal of the project is to get familiar with the technology and possibilities of a Cobot. The primary difference between Cobotics and a conventional Robotics approach is that the technology can safely exist in a human operating environment without caging or other hard guarding. Both Fokker Aerostructures and Fokker Landing Gear wanted to gain experience with this technology and worked together in the preparation of 2 projects to be showcased in their companies. Fokker Aerostructures concentrated on the application of handling of an Automatic Drilling Unit (ADU) for the production of the A350 Outboard Flap. Task of the Cobot was to pick-up an ADU from a table and insert the ADU in a drill jig. Goal of the project was to free-up well trained workers for more difficult
Muijs, Leo, Snijders, Manuela
777X Control Surface Assembly Using Advanced Robotic Automation2017-01-209209/19/2017
Fabrication and assembly of the majority of control surfaces for Boeing’s 777X airplane is completed at the Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS) site in St. Louis, Missouri. The former 777 airplane has been revamped to compete with affordability goals and contentious markets requiring cost-effective production technologies with high maturity and reliability. With tens of thousands of fasteners per shipset, the tasks of drilling, countersinking, hole inspection, and temporary fastener installation are automated. Additionally and wherever possible, blueprint fasteners are automatically installed. Initial production is supported by four (4) Electroimpact robotic systems embedded into a pulse-line production system requiring strategic processing and safeguarding solutions to manage several key layout, build and product flow constraints. Commonality amongst the robots was desired to allow each to effectively address any of the commodities which range from small fairings to very large
Mir, Ryan, DeVlieg, Russell
A Novel Fixturing Solution for Handling Complex-Shaped Components2017-01-208209/19/2017
Many components used in the aerospace industry are complex-shaped, without symmetric axes and parallel surfaces. Fabricating and repairing these components often require fixturing system to support manufacturing processes such as drilling, surface finishing, inspections and assembly. Currently available fixturing systems can be divided into dedicated and flexible fixtures. Among these, the flexible fixtures are suitable for rapidly changing fabricating processes and handling several complex-shaped components using same fixturing system. Background research suggested that the pin type fixturing system is the predominant design used in such applications to fix complex-shaped components. In pin type fixturing systems, force is applied to a single point of contact. This increases the pressure applied to the work piece and possibility of damaging these components. Further, conventional pins use rigid designs, which cannot adapt to the shape of the work piece. This reduces the applicable
Jayaweera, Nirosh, Kulasekera, Asitha, Maduranga, Posindu, Kasun, Thilina, Seekkuarachchi, Prabodh, Sampath, Janaka
Automated Riveting of C-130J Aft Fuselage Panels2017-01-207509/19/2017
Electroimpact and Lockheed Martin have developed an automated drilling and fastening system for C-130J aft fuselage panels. Numerous design and manufacturing challenges were addressed to incorporate the system into Lockheed Martin’s existing manufacturing paradigm and to adapt Electroimpact’s existing line of riveting machines for manufacture of these legacy aircraft parts. Challenges to automation included design of a very long yet sufficiently rigid and lightweight offset riveting anvil for fastening around deep circumferential frames, automated feeding of very short, “square” rivets in which the length is similar to the head diameter, creation of part programs and simulation models for legacy parts with no existing 3d manufacturing data, and crash protection for the aircraft part from machine collisions, given the uncertainties inherent in the model and the unique geometry of the aircraft parts. Additional challenges were overcome in integrating the system into Lockheed Martin’s
Bigoney, Burton, Huddleston, Nicholas
True Mobile/Portable Drilling and Machining, a Paradigm Shift in Manufacturing2017-01-208409/19/2017
The evolving Aerospace manufacturing environment has created challenges that until now are not achievable with standard machine tools, large monumental gantry style machines and robots, or even manually operations. The solution is a lightweight, mobile/portable, and modular PKM (Parallel Kinematics Machine) solution, capable of machining to high tolerances, with minimal time and effort to relocate to a different area, at an affordable price With the carbon fiber PKM module mounted on a mobile platform, the module can simply be relocated using a standard pallet mover or forklift, to all areas in a factory. The module can also be removed from the mobile platform by two people, and mounted in a desired location and in any orientation “in hours”. The modularity of the PKM does not only make it possible to move it around in different production areas, but also makes it possible to reconstruct in an area that is not typically accessible by machines or robots. Acting as a mobile machine tool
Neumann, Karl-Erik
A Novel Normal Measurement Method for Robotic Drilling and Countersinking2017-01-208809/19/2017
A novel normal measurement device for robotic drilling and countersinking has been developed. This device is mainly composed of three contact displacement sensors and a spherically compliant clamp pad. The compliance of the clamp pad allows it to be perpendicular to the part when the Multi-Function End Effector (MFEE) drives it to clamp the part surface prior to drilling, while the displacement sensors are used to measure the movement of the clamp pad relative to the MFEE. Once the sensors’ position is calibrated, the rotation angle of the clamp pad can be calculated by the displacement of the sensors. Then, the normal adjustment of MFEE is obtained, and the adjustment process can be achieved by the Rotation Tool Center Point (RTCP) function of robot. Thus, an innovative method based on laser tracker to identify the position of sensors is proposed. The datum plane for calibration can be measured by the laser tracker, and the least square plane fitting method is used to improve the
Yu, Long, Bi PhD, Qingzhen, Zhang, Yilian, Wang, Yuhan
CPAC Bulkhead Riveting System2017-01-207409/19/2017
Ever increasing process applications inspire us, as suppliers of aircraft, structural-assembly, and equipment to design innovative and modular, manufacturing cells in compliance with modern specifications. The result is the new flexible C-Frame Panel Assembly Cell (CPAC) Bulkhead riveting System. This paper describes how benchmarks for flexible automated drilling and fastening are being achieved with the CPAC.
Dillhoefer, Thorsten, Erdinc, Fatih
Repairing CompositesTI-000108/09/2017
As the aerospace industry continues on its quest for ever-increased efficiency, so goes the quest for ever-more composite content on aircraft. And with it, more opportunities to repair it. Typical composite panel fiber reinforcements are carbon, aramid, and fiberglass. The machining techniques for these typical composite materials are similar, but minor differences exist, such as the style of cutting tool or drill bit. Automated drilling methods that may be used during original manufacture are rarely used in typical composite repair situations.
Drilling Material Stacks: Can it be both automated and affordable?SN-000106/26/2017
Automating a manufacturing process often comes with substantial investment or sustained operational costs of complex subsystems. But, by reducing complexity and using technologically mature components, it is possible to develop viable scaled and robust automated solutions. For the past several years, aerospace manufacturers have endeavored to automate manufacturing processes as much as possible for both production efficiencies and competitive advantage. Automating processes like drilling, fastening, sealing, painting, and composite material production have reaped a wide range of benefits; from improving quality and productivity to lowering worker ergonomic risks. The results have improved supply chains from small component manufacturers all the way up to airframe assemblers. That said, automation can be very expensive, and difficult to introduce when a product is anywhere beyond the beginning of its life cycle. In this Solution Notes, engineers address those two challenges with a mix
Process Understanding of Dry Drilling CFRP/Aluminium and AL/AL Stacks in IT8 Quality2016-01-211609/27/2016
Drilling holes into metal with MQL (Minimal Quantity Lubrication) is a normal procedure, because the drill is designed for drilling metal and the malleable capability of the metal compensates for the insufficient cutting capability of a worn out drill. Drilling composite materials using the same drill (designed for drilling metal) is a different procedure, because composite fibers are not malleable like metal at all. Due to this fact the tools become very hot trying to forge composite fibers like metal. The elastic behavior of the composite and the delamination inside the hole makes the tool temporary smaller than the diameter of the drill. The hole in the metal part of the stack remains slightly larger due to the heat and the thermal expansion rate. This paper shows how to drill metal and composite with the same diameter, so that achieving H8 quality is no longer a dream. Besides drilling H8 with cpk higher than 1.7, the dry drilling is one other important goal for aerospace assembly
Mueller-Hummel, Peter
A Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian Finite Element Model of Drilling Titanium and Aluminium Alloys2016-01-212609/27/2016
Despite the increasing use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites, titanium and aluminium alloys still constitute a significant proportion of modern civil aircraft structures, which are primarily assembled via mechanical joining techniques. Drilling of fastening holes is therefore a critical operation, which has to meet stringent geometric tolerance and integrity criteria. The paper details the development of a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model for drilling aerospace grade aluminium (AA7010-T7451 and AA2024-T351) and titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) alloys. The FE simulation employed a Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian (CEL) technique. The cutting tool was modelled according to a Lagrangian formulation in which the mesh follows the material displacement while the workpiece was represented by a non-translating and material deformation independent Eulerian mesh. The performance of the CEL based simulation was also benchmarked against an equivalent pure Lagrangian model (both
Abdelhafeez, Ali Mohamed, Soo, Sein Leung, Aspinwall, David, Dowson, Anthony, Arnold, Dick
Automatic Temporary Fastener Installation System for Wingbox Assembly2016-01-208509/27/2016
The automation cycle time of wing assembly can be shortened by the automated installation of single-sided temporary fasteners to provide temporary part clamping and doweling during panel drilling. Feeding these fasteners poses problems due to their complexity in design and overall heavy weight. In the past, Electroimpact has remotely fed these fasteners by blowing them through pneumatic tubing. This technique has resulted in occasional damage to fasteners during delivery and a complex feed system that requires frequent maintenance. Due to these issues, Electroimpact has developed a new fully automated single-sided temporary fastening system for installation of the LISI Clampberry fasteners in wing panels for the C919 wing factory in Yanliang, China. The feed system stores fasteners in gravity-fed cartridges on the end effector near the point of installation. The cartridge placement at the end effector eliminates the need for pneumatic feed tubes in addition to limiting input sensors to
Pritz, Kyle, Etzel, Brent, Wei, Zheng
Implementation of High-Performance Vibration Assisted Drilling Process for Drilling and Fastening Systems2016-01-209609/27/2016
Drilling of high-strength titan material and composites in combination creates complex challenges in order to achieve required productivity and quality. Long spiral chips are characteristically for the titan drilling process, which leads to e.g. chip accumulation, high thermomechanical load, surface damages and excessive tool wear. The basic approach is the substitution of today’s peck drilling as current solution to this problem and the implementation of a vibration assisted drilling, so called micro-peck-drilling-process, to generate a kinematic chip breakage in a significant more efficient way. To meet perfectly the requirements regarding rates, quality and automation level, Broetje-Automation as system integrator has investigated and developed the implementation of different alternative high-performance systems and methods to approach the optimal oscillation movement of the tool. In addition to the analysis of the system, the process has been investigated to complete the
Schnieders, Simon, Eickhorst, Dirk
Automated Flexible Tooling for Wing Box Assembly: Hexapod Development Study2016-01-211009/27/2016
The ability to adapt to rapidly evolving market demands continues to be the one of the key challenges in the automation of assembly processes in the aerospace industry. To meet this challenge, industry and academia have made efforts to automate flexible fixturing. LOCOMACHS (Low Cost Manufacturing and Assembly of Composite and Hybrid Structures) - a European Union funded project with 31 partners - aims to address various aspects of aero-structure assembly with a special attention directed to the development of a new build philosophy along with relevant enabling technologies. This paper aims to present the results on the developed wing box build philosophy and the integration of automated flexible tooling solutions into the assembly process. The developed solution constitutes the use of synchronized hexapods for the assembly of front spar to upper cover whereas another hexapod was developed to install a rib by using of a force feedback sensor. Both hexapod applications have undergone
Erdem, Ilker, Helgosson, Peter, Gomes, Ashwin, Engstrom, Magnus
Automatic Drilling, Countersink and Riveting Experience. Aernnova Highlights Based on More Than 20 Million of Fasteners Installed2016-01-208909/27/2016
Aernnova experience on automatic drilling operations started in 1,999. The company signed a new contract with Embraer, to design, manufacture and assembly several structures of the model 170. It was big news for the company. But after that minute of pride, manufacturing engineering people of the company started to think about the process to assemble those big panels of the Horizontal Stabilizer, Vertical Stabilizer and Rear Fuselages in the best Quality and Cost. There were a lot of rows of rivets to install. Some ideas arisen, but the final decision was to forget the available processes at that time and think about to automate the drilling, countersink and riveting of the stringers, doublers and window frames to the panels. There were a lot of doubts, figures to do and obstacles, but the company took the decision of going ahead with that process. That step changed the state of the art at that time in the company. The investment was important, the risks were high, and the beginnings
Guerra cEng, Jose, Castillo, Miguel Angel
Vibration Assisted Drilling of Aerospace Materials2016-01-213609/27/2016
Insufficient chip extraction often leads to disruptions of automated drilling processes and will have a negative impact on the surface qualities. One opportunity to avoid chip accumulation is based on a kinematically enforced chip breakage caused by sinusoidal axial oscillations of the drilling tool. Recent investigations have shown that the quality of chip extraction is, amongst others, considerably depending on the chip shape and mass which are defined by the cutting parameters feed, amplitude and frequency. So far only mechanical systems in the form of tool holders have been available on the market, which are restricted to a fixed frequency (oscillation frequency is coupled to the spindle speed). In the present study a spindle with magnetic bearings was used which allows to adjust the oscillation frequency independent of the spindle speed and therefore enables all opportunities to affect the generated chip shapes. Based on a kinematic model of the uncut chip shape, cutting
Pecat, Oliver, Paulsen, Tebbe, Katthöfer, Philipp, Brinksmeier, Ekkard, Fangmann, Sascha
High Performance Motion Control Without a Foundation For Fuselage Fastening Automation2016-01-210309/27/2016
This technical paper details an optimized Drivmatic machine design delivered to a Tier 1 aero structure supplier to automate drilling and installation of rivets, hi-loks, lockbolts & swage collars for individual fuselage panel assemblies with high throughput & strict quality requirements. While certain robot solutions continue to be explored for specific applications at many Tier 1 aero structure suppliers, robot payload capacity has limitations beyond certain criteria, which often times point towards an alternative machine design as in this case study. A typical approach for adding more automation is to allocate shop floor space based on the solution’s foot print, however contrary to most approaches this solution had to be designed to fit within a pre-determined factory footprint over a geographic location with a high water table that would not permit a foundation. GEMCOR was therefore challenged to deliver a CNC automatic fastening solution with high-speed motion control technology
Barton, Eric
Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to Complex Aerospace “CFRP/Ti Drilling Applications” in Conjunction with Advanced Cutting Tool Design and Electric ADU’s2016-01-209909/27/2016
On CNC Machines, drilling holes under perfect condition is possible. For drilling holes into titanium, composite and aluminum stacked materials the specific cutting condition can be selected. Furthermore surrounding conditions such as peck cycle, MQL and force and torque monitoring can be easily adapted. When drilling holes in the final assembly, CNC machine tools cannot be employed due to sizes and accessibility. Power Feed Units or Automated Drill Units ADUs are very handy, flexible and depending upon the jig extremely rigid. Whenever a machine tool does not fit, ADUs are highly recommended. In comparison to machine tools, conventional pneumatic ADUs can be used with one fixed set of feed, speed and micro peck only. Due to that a compromise in cutting condition has to be chosen in drilling stacked material with different layers. In the mind-set of the fourth industrial revolution, this article presents a completely new approach in the ADU Technology, while the benefits in the
Mueller-Hummel, Peter, Langhorst, Thomas
Automated Drilling of Fabric Woven CFRP and Aluminum Laminates with PCD Cutters Using Drilling Robot2016-01-207709/27/2016
CFRP has been widely used in aerospace industries because of its high strength-to-weight ratio. However, drilling CFRP laminates is difficult due to the highly abrasive nature of the carbon fibers and low thermal conductivity of CFRP. Therefore for the manufacturers it is a challenge to drill CFRP materials without causing any delamination within the high quality requirements while also considering the costs of the process. This paper will discuss the process of drilling CFRP-Al stack ups within tight tolerances using a seven axis drilling robot. All components required for drilling are integrated in the drill end-effector. The pressure foot is extended in order to clamp the work piece, and then holes are drilled. The drilling process has four steps: moving to the fast approach level, controlled drill feed, countersink depth reach and drill retract. The cutter diameter range chosen for this paper is Ø 4.0 mm and Ø 7.9 mm. We will mainly explain our observations and experience to
Sahin, Fatih Burak, Borchers, Hans-Juergen, Ucar, Cagatay
Mobile Robot Assembly Cell (RACe) for Drilling and Fastening2016-01-207809/27/2016
The demand of flexible and cost-efficient solutions for automated fastening systems inspired us, the BROETJE-Automation, to develop the robot and end-effector technology to fulfil the customer’s requirement for a highly accurate, automated robot based drill and fastening system for an aerospace application. This paper describes an innovative mobile robot platform for multiple uses in aviation industry. The base platform will be equipped with suitable modular units to meet the requirements of each customer exactly. The required absolute positioning accuracy is reached by using a special compensation package for the robot that was developed by BROETJE Automation. Several aircraft manufacturers are operating with this mobile cell works on single aisle and twin aisle programs. This solution demonstrates how standard robots equipped with a mature compensation method resulted in a highly flexible and cost-efficient light weight automation response.
Logemann, Torsten
Development of Temporary Blind Auto Fasteners2016-01-208309/27/2016
This paper traces the development of a temporary blind fastener in the aircraft industry. These are used with automated drilling machines as part of an integrated assembly process where one-way assembly is inappropriate. Traditional blind temporary fasteners have a high protrusion (stand-off) on the side they are installed from, effectively preventing automated drilling. No suitable fastener was available on the market and existing suppliers were uninterested in development at the time. A set of requirements were created out of the need to improve efficiency of A380 wing assembly. However focus changed as the A350XWB programme demanded such a fastener. Testing, development and Stress approval are described leading to full deployment. Finally the paper looks at the additional factors which are required to successfully introduce a new standard of temporary fastening process.
Smith, Steven P.
Design of a Reconfigurable Assembly Cell for Multiple Aerostructures2016-01-210509/27/2016
This paper presents novel development of a reconfigurable assembly cell which assembles multiple aerostructure products. Most aerostructure assembly systems are designed to produce one variant only. For multiple variants, each assembly typically has a dedicated assembly cell, despite most assemblies requiring a process of drilling and fastening to similar tolerances. Assembly systems that produce more than one variant do exist but have long changeover or involve extensive retrofitting. Quick assembly of multiple products using one assembly system offers significant cost savings from reductions in capital expenditure and lead time. Recent trends advocate Reconfigurable Assembly Systems (RAS) as a solution; designed to have exactly the functionality necessary to produce a group of similar components. A state-of-the-art review finds significant benefits in deploying RAS for a group of aerostructures variants. What’s more, improvements to robot accuracy and decreasing costs of capital
Jefferson, Thomas G., Crossley, Richard, Smith, Anthony, Ratchev, Svetan
Vibration Assisted Drilling on Automated Drilling Units: Challenges, Dynamic Modelization and Prospective Developments2016-01-209709/27/2016
The Vibration Assisted Drilling (VAD) process has been implemented in Automated Drilling Equipment (ADE) on an industrial scale since 2011. Today more than 11000 ADEs are currently used on aircraft assembly lines. As well as drawing up a short report on the use of this new process, the authors make an assessment on new challenges that VAD has to face up. Indeed production rates are increasing and ADE manufacturers improve their technologies, one of the most recent and major development concerning the electrical motorization of the machines. These evolutions are as many opportunities for the VAD provided you have a clever understanding as well as an expert knowledge of the process. Thus the authors propose a new dynamic model of the whole VAD system which integrates the behavior of the part, cutting tool/material pair and the machine. The confrontation of model results and experimental validation tests demonstrates the relevance of the works. On this basis the authors detail some
Laporte, Sylvain, De Castelbajac, Cosme, Ladonne, Mathieu
FRAC (Frame Riveter Assembly Cell)2016-01-207909/27/2016
The industry wide requirement of new highly flexible automated fastening systems in aircraft production has created the need for developing new fastening systems. This paper will focus on the development of the Frame Riveting Assembly Cell (FRAC) by BROETJE-Automation to meet this need. The new FRAC machine configuration is built for automated drilling and fastening of different aircraft type parts. It is highly flexible with a high speed positioning system mounted multifunction end effector. System travel is limited only by installed track length. The FRAC integrates well with conventional and reconfigurable automated fastening work holding tools.
Janssen, Alexander, Dillhoefer, Thorsten
Flexible Machining System for an Efficient Skin Machining2016-01-212909/27/2016
Aluminum skin milling is a very challenging process due to the high quality requirements needed in the aeronautic and aerospace industries. Nowadays, on these markets, there are just two technological approaches able to face the manufacturing of this sort of wide thin blanks: chemical and mechanical milling by means of highly complex machines. Both solutions lead to a high investment requirement that affect directly on the application profitability on these industrial sectors. This paper presents a flexible machining system that allows milling skin shaped parts within required tolerances by means of an innovative universal holding fixture combined with an adaptive toolpath development. This flexible holding fixture can be adapted to the required shape and can hold uniformly the whole sheet surface. Besides, the solution includes an implementation that can adapt the machining toolpath by means of the skin thickness online measurement. The integration of these two innovative devices
Rubio, Antonio, Calleja, Luis, Orive, Javier, Mújica, Ángel, Rivero, Asunción
High Accuracy Automated Drilling Processes for Achieving Laminar Flow2016-01-209509/27/2016
Reduction of overall drag to improve aircraft performance has always been one of the goals for aircraft manufacturers. One of the key contributors to decreasing drag is achieving laminar flow on a large proportion of the wing. Laminar flow requires parts to be manufactured and assembled within tighter tolerance bands than current build processes. Drilling of aircraft wings to the tolerances demanded by laminar flow requires machines with the stiffness and accuracy of a CNC machine while having the flexibility and envelope of an articulated arm. This paper describes the development and evaluation of high accuracy automated processes to enable the assembly of a one-off innovative laminar flow wing concept. This project is a continuation of a previously published SAE paper related to the development of advanced thermally stable and lightweight assembly fixture required to maintain laminar flow tolerances. The machine selected for this project is a Gudel-Exechon Parallel Kinematic Machine
Suwala, Agata, Agyepong, Lucy, Silcox, Andrew
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