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Using Manufacturing Intelligence to Help Airframers Achieve Best-Fit Aircraft Assembly While Reducing Production Cycle Times
Whatever the size or type of aircraft, accurate assembly and structural alignment is essential to ensure efficient aerodynamic performance and safe operations throughout its service life.
Small aircraft and legacy manufacturing plants require simple and efficient tools to help operators handle and align fuselage sections together. Bigger aircraft or high-volume single-aisle programs are increasingly utilising automated assembly lines for fuselage to fuselage section assemblies or wing to body assembly, helping to reduce cycle times and keep up with demand for new aircraft. Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence offers solutions to support all these requirements.
With aerospace components increasingly produced using distributed manufacturing methods, we provide equipment to not only inspect and verify the dimensional characteristics and features of aerospace parts, but also to set and verify jigs and fixtures, and even virtually simulate and assist operators with assembly.
The ability to fully-digitise complex parts allows manufacturers to compare the as-built aircraft assembly against the as-designed model using virtual assembly methods, ensuring best-fit between nominal and real part geometries. This enables early error detection in the manufacturing process, making it less costly to repair and ensuring rework takes place before the final airframe assembly.
Many aerospace manufacturers are also now using metrology-assisted assembly based on Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence photogrammetry and laser tracker technologies to guide operators in the field and even to control robotics systems. Real measured data adds positioning accuracy to the high repeatability of standard industrial robots, enabling airframers to reduce production time for operations like wing assembly, stringer placement for fuselage sections, engine mounting and other aero-assembly functions.
Small aircraft and legacy manufacturing plants require simple and efficient tools to help operators handle and align fuselage sections together. Bigger aircraft or high-volume single-aisle programs are increasingly utilising automated assembly lines for fuselage to fuselage section assemblies or wing to body assembly, helping to reduce cycle times and keep up with demand for new aircraft. Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence offers solutions to support all these requirements.
With aerospace components increasingly produced using distributed manufacturing methods, we provide equipment to not only inspect and verify the dimensional characteristics and features of aerospace parts, but also to set and verify jigs and fixtures, and even virtually simulate and assist operators with assembly.
The ability to fully-digitise complex parts allows manufacturers to compare the as-built aircraft assembly against the as-designed model using virtual assembly methods, ensuring best-fit between nominal and real part geometries. This enables early error detection in the manufacturing process, making it less costly to repair and ensuring rework takes place before the final airframe assembly.
Many aerospace manufacturers are also now using metrology-assisted assembly based on Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence photogrammetry and laser tracker technologies to guide operators in the field and even to control robotics systems. Real measured data adds positioning accuracy to the high repeatability of standard industrial robots, enabling airframers to reduce production time for operations like wing assembly, stringer placement for fuselage sections, engine mounting and other aero-assembly functions.
Aircraft Structural Damage Recording and Analysis
Data analysis and visualisation tools help automate and improve the crucial identification, recording and analysis of aircraft structural damage from multiple sources.
Aircraft Structural Frames and Stringers Dimensional Measurement
Optimising the measurement of aircraft frames and stringers on the shop floor or close to machining centres increases productivity and ensures accuracy.
Real-Time Tool and Process Monitoring for Aerospace
Deploying local real-time monitoring and capturing trends in measurement data, alongside machine utilisation information, can provide insights for continuous process optimisation.
Installation and Inspection of Aircraft Assembly Tooling
Portable, easy-to-use, high-performance metrology systems to ensure the accurate installation of assembly tooling and fixtures for...
Aircraft Passenger Seat Frame Inspection
Portable measurement solutions can increase productivity in aircraft cabin fitting by simplifying the inspection of passenger seat frames.
Inspection of Aircraft Ribs, Hinges and Machined Parts
The dimensional inspection of ribs, hinges and other large machined parts used in an aircraft’s structure requires large-volume measurement solutions with excellent...
Inspection of Aircraft Pylons, Winglets and Fairings
Dimensional inspection of critical aerodynamic aircraft components such as winglets, fairings and pylons is essential to safe and efficient flight.
Flight Control Surfaces Inclination Measurement
Accurate inclination measurement is required to calibrate and check the function of aircraft flight control surfaces such as the elevator, rudder, slats, flaps and ailerons.
Installation and Inspection of Aircraft Assembly Tooling
Portable, easy-to-use, high-performance metrology systems to ensure the accurate installation of assembly tooling and fixtures for...
Aircraft Cabin Interior Brackets Installation
Increase productivity by turning the installation and inspection of brackets in aircraft cabins into a one-step process.
Machine Tool Probing for Aero-Structure Rib Machining
Precise, constant alignment coupled with automated measurement and on-the-machine tooling results in faster milling of aero-structure ribs and fewer rejects.
Machine Tool Probing for Aircraft Fuselage Sections and Floor Panels
Inspecting and checking the alignment of large aircraft fuselage sections and floor panels during machining can help reduce waste and improve productivity.
Machine Tool Probing for Aircraft Engine Pylons
The machining of an aero engine pylon from a single blank can be made more accurate by in-process measurement to identify potential errors.
Reverse Engineering of Aircraft Components for MRO
Using 3D scanning to reverse engineer parts makes it easier to repair, maintain and overhaul aircraft for which CAD data is not available.
Virtual Testing of Aircraft Movables
Airframers can test and measure the performance and durability of an aircraft structure’s movable parts more quickly and cost-effectively with simulation software.
Composite Aircraft Component Design
Simulation software can be used to reduce development cycles by virtually testing CFRP components for the aerospace industry.
Materials Lifecycle Management for Aerospace
Aircraft manufacturers can improve the use and traceability of materials, as well as product design, by capturing, managing and sharing data about materials from within...
Aircraft Cabin Airflow and Passenger Thermal Comfort
Cabin environmental conditions are essential to passenger experience, so designing an aircraft for the comfort of the people aboard is a priority for manufacturers.
Aircraft Cabin Noise and Passenger Comfort
Using acoustic simulation software to design quieter aircraft cabin interiors can have a huge impact on flight comfort and passenger experience.
Aircraft Acoustic Simulation and Analysis
Specialised acoustic simulation software enables aircraft manufacturers to reduce noise levels in the cabin and cockpit while using lightweight structural materials.
Loads Simulation for Aircraft Structure
Engineers can shorten development times by using simulation software throughout the aircraft design lifecycle to analyse the impact of loads on its structure.
Carbon Fibre Ply Simulation for Aerospace Parts
The complexity and cost of creating CFRP aircraft components mean manufacturers benefit from analysing and simulating the impact of manufacturing defects on part performance.
Kontakt
Hexagon Manufacturing IntelligenceBrown Boveri Strasse 8
2351 Wiener Neudorf
Österreich
Tel.: +43 2236 860 070
Fax: +43 2236 860 070-11
Aerospace Industry Brochure
Solutions to ramp up aerospace design and manufacturing.