Intelligent assembly system for aviation piston engine bearing bush

Abstract

The invention discloses an intelligent assembling system for a bearing bush of an aviation piston engine. Comprising a remote server, an enterprise resource planning system server, a warehouse management computer, a wireless network, a code scanning gun, an AGV assembly trolley, an AGV scheduling system, a printer, station equipment, a bearing bush intelligent rack, a station touch screen, a station module, an industrial Ethernet, an Ethernet and a manufacturing execution system server. According to the intelligent assembling system for the aviation piston engine bearing bushes, through a cooperative verification structure of the intelligent bearing bush rack and the visual system, the precise recognition and number control functions of bearing bush taking are achieved, the problems that errors are likely to be made during manual taking, and more bearing bushes and less bearing bushes are taken are solved, the fault rate is greatly reduced, meanwhile, dependence on advanced technicians is reduced, and the working efficiency is improved. And the training and labor cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aero-engine assembly technology, specifically to an intelligent assembly system for aero-engine piston bearings. Background Technology

[0002] An aircraft piston engine is a heat engine that converts the chemical energy of fuel into mechanical energy through the reciprocating motion of a piston within a cylinder. It is primarily used to drive propellers, providing power for small aircraft, helicopters, or drones. The piston engine's main bearing is a type of sliding bearing, typically installed in critical components such as the crankshaft and connecting rod. The bearing is a key component connecting the crankshaft and connecting rod, supporting the high-speed rotating shaft. Its main function is to reduce friction and transmit power. The core structure of the bearing consists of two thin metal plates, with a micron-sized oil gap in between. Lubricating oil passes through this gap to form a liquid friction film, preventing direct contact and wear between the metal parts. The upper bearing is fixed to the crankshaft journal, while the lower bearing rotates and mates with the connecting rod big end. The clearance between the bearing and the journal (commonly referred to as the "oil gap") is typically on the micron level. Too small a clearance can lead to bearing failure and bearing seizure; too large a clearance can result in poor lubrication, abnormal noise, and reduced power. Meanwhile, the main bearing cap bolts must be assembled in a strict sequence and with a step-by-step tightening process of "torque + angle". Any assembly deviation may lead to abnormal oil gap, bearing deformation or even damage to the main shaft, causing serious failures such as bearing pull, bearing seizure, and power reduction.

[0003] In current aero-engine piston bearing assembly processes, the traditional manual assembly method is still widely relied upon. This method has several insurmountable technical drawbacks. First, assembly quality is highly dependent on the experience of experienced technicians. Key aspects such as bearing model selection, installation orientation calibration, and bolt tightening control all rely on the operator's feel and visual judgment. However, manual experience is highly subjective and unreplicable. Differences in skill levels and work conditions among different operators, as well as fluctuations in the same operator's energy levels at different times, all make it difficult to quantify and standardize assembly accuracy. Second, the risk of quality fluctuations is significant. Due to the lack of effective real-time monitoring and error correction mechanisms, problems such as incorrect bearing selection, over- or under-selection, and failure to detect surface defects occur frequently. Third, the lack of a complete data traceability system means that key information such as bearing batches, test results, and bolt tightening parameters cannot be recorded during manual assembly, creating data gaps. When bearing-related failures occur in the engine, it is difficult to quickly locate the root cause of the problem, greatly hindering troubleshooting and after-sales maintenance. Furthermore, the traditional model relies heavily on highly skilled technicians, requiring companies to invest significant resources in skills training. This not only increases labor costs but also exposes them to the risk of losing core technical personnel. Simultaneously, due to a lack of data support, process optimization relies solely on periodic manual summaries, making it difficult to identify hidden bottlenecks in the assembly process. This results in inefficient process improvement, failing to meet the ever-increasing demands for product quality and production efficiency in the aerospace manufacturing industry. These problems severely restrict the intelligent and high-quality development of aero-piston engine assembly, becoming a critical technical challenge that urgently needs to be addressed within the industry. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application proposes an intelligent assembly system for aircraft piston engine bearings, aiming to solve the technical problems in the prior art where the reliance on manual experience leads to unstable bearing assembly quality and the inability to quantify and control it.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solution: an intelligent assembly system for aviation piston engine bearings, comprising: a remote server, an enterprise resource planning system server, a warehouse management computer, a wireless network, a barcode scanner, an AGV assembly trolley, an AGV scheduling system, a printer, workstation equipment, an intelligent bearing rack, a workstation touch screen, a workstation module, an industrial Ethernet, an Ethernet, and a manufacturing execution system server. The enterprise resource planning system server is connected to the warehouse management computer and the manufacturing execution system server. The manufacturing execution system server is connected to the AGV scheduling system via Ethernet. The AGV scheduling system is connected to the barcode scanner and the AGV assembly trolley via wireless network. The workstation module is connected to the workstation touch screen and the intelligent bearing rack via industrial Ethernet. The manufacturing execution system server is connected to the printer. The intelligent bearing rack includes a bearing assembly rack, a photoelectric sensor switch, and indicator lights.

[0006] Furthermore, the assembly steps of this system include: Cylinder block positioning and identification: The engine cylinder block arrives at the workstation via a conveyor line, and its identity information is read by RFID; Bearing material loading and inspection: Employees take the specified model of bearing from the material box, and the vision system confirms that the model is correct and the surface is free of defects; Bearing assembly: Employees install the bearings into the main bearing housing holes of the cylinder block. If a bearing is not properly installed, the intelligent bearing rack will immediately sound an alarm. Crankshaft placement and pre-assembly: Hoist the crankshaft into place, and then install the main bearing caps; Intelligent tightening: The multi-head tightening machine tightens all main bearing cap bolts in a predetermined sequence, and the system monitors and records the complete tightening curve of each bolt in real time; Data binding and uploading: All assembly data of the engine is bound to its engine identification code and uploaded to the manufacturing execution system server to form a digital file of "one machine, one file"; Qualified product transfer: Engines that have been assembled and whose data are qualified are transferred to the next process.

[0007] Furthermore, the photoelectric sensor switch of the intelligent bearing rack is used to detect the number of bearings taken, and the indicator light is used to indicate the position of the bearing to be taken. When the wrong bearing is taken, too many or too few are taken, the buzzer alarms and the program is locked, which requires a designated person to unlock.

[0008] Furthermore, the vision system includes an industrial camera and an image processor. The image processor communicates with the manufacturing execution system server to upload the bearing model verification results and surface defect detection results in real time.

[0009] Furthermore, the multi-head tightening machine has built-in torque and angle sensors to collect torque and angle data in real time during the tightening process, forming a tightening curve. When the data exceeds the preset threshold, the equipment stops running and alarms.

[0010] Furthermore, the "one machine, one file" digital archive includes the bearing batch, model, surface inspection results, bolt tightening torque, rotation angle data, and complete tightening curve, and is synchronized to a remote server for backup.

[0011] Furthermore, the AGV assembly trolley receives scheduling instructions from the manufacturing execution system server through the AGV scheduling system, and accurately delivers the bearing materials from the warehouse to the corresponding assembly station with a delivery error of no more than ±5cm.

[0012] Furthermore, the image processor of the vision system has a built-in defect recognition algorithm with a defect recognition accuracy of no less than 0.01mm, which can identify defects such as scratches, dents, and wear on the bearing surface.

[0013] Furthermore, the workstation touchscreen displays the model, quantity, installation location, and assembly progress of the bearings to be assembled in real time, and employees can view the operation instructions through the touchscreen.

[0014] The present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. The intelligent assembly system for aero-engine piston bearings provided in this application achieves accurate identification and quantity control of bearing picking through a collaborative verification structure of intelligent bearing rack and vision system. This solves the problems of easy errors and over- or under-picking during manual picking, significantly reducing the failure rate. At the same time, it reduces the reliance on senior technicians and lowers training and labor costs.

[0015] 2. The intelligent assembly system for bearing bushes of aero-piston engines provided in this application realizes the dynamic control function of bolt tightening quality through the acquisition of torque-angle dual parameters of intelligent tightening machine and real-time monitoring structure of tightening curve. It solves the problems of inconsistent and unquantifiable tightening force by manual tightening, eliminates human factors, and ensures that the assembly accuracy of each product reaches the optimal standard.

[0016] 3. The intelligent assembly system for aero-piston engine bearings provided in this application realizes full-process data traceability through a digital archive structure that binds "engine identification code - assembly data". This solves the problems of lack of data support and difficulty in fault tracing in traditional assembly, shortens fault diagnosis time, and provides a solid data foundation for quality analysis, problem tracing, predictive maintenance and product improvement based on complete digital archives. Furthermore, based on big data analysis, it can continuously discover process bottlenecks, optimize assembly parameters, and achieve self-learning and evolution. Attached Figure Description

[0017] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments disclosed in this application and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles disclosed in this application.

[0018] This disclosure will become clearer with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description, wherein: Figure 1 This is a diagram showing the overall architecture of the system of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the intelligent bearing rack of the present invention.

[0019] In the diagram: 1. Remote server; 2. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system server; 3. Warehouse management computer; 4. Wireless network; 5. Barcode scanner; 6. AGV assembly trolley; 7. AGV scheduling system; 8. Printer; 9. Workstation equipment; 10. Intelligent bearing rack; 10.1 Bearing assembly rack; 10.2 Photoelectric sensor switch; 10.3 Indicator light; 11. Workstation touch screen; 12. Workstation module; 13. Industrial Ethernet; 14. Ethernet; 15. Manufacturing Execution System (MES) server. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] Please see Figure 1 and attached Figure 2 As shown, an intelligent assembly system for aero-engine piston bearings includes: a remote server 1, an enterprise resource planning system server 2, a warehouse management computer 3, a wireless network 4, a barcode scanner 5, an AGV assembly trolley 6, an AGV scheduling system 7, a printer 8, workstation equipment 9, an intelligent bearing rack 10, a workstation touch screen 11, a workstation module 12, an industrial Ethernet 13, an Ethernet 14, and a manufacturing execution system server 15.

[0022] Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system server 2 establishes communication connections with warehouse management computer 3 and manufacturing execution system server 15 respectively to realize the synchronous distribution of production plans; The manufacturing execution system server 15 communicates with the AGV scheduling system 7 via Ethernet 14. The AGV scheduling system 7 interacts with the barcode scanner 5 and the AGV assembly trolley 6 via wireless network 4. The workstation module 12 is bidirectionally connected to the workstation touch screen 11 and the intelligent bearing rack 10 via industrial Ethernet 13 to ensure real-time synchronization of assembly information. The manufacturing execution system server 15 communicates with the printer 8 to output electronic work cards.

[0023] The intelligent bearing rack 10 consists of a bearing assembly rack 10.1, a photoelectric sensor switch 10.2, and an indicator light 10.3, and has functions of position indication, quantity detection, and abnormal alarm.

[0024] The specific assembly steps of the system and the function of each step are as follows: 1. Production Instructions and Material Scheduling: The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system server 2 sends the production plan to the warehouse management computer 3 and the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) server 15. The warehouse management computer 3 allocates the corresponding bearing materials according to the production plan. After receiving the instructions from the MES server 15, the AGV scheduling system 7 controls the AGV assembly cart 6 via wireless network 4 to accurately deliver the bearing materials from the warehouse to the target workstation. The barcode scanner 5 scans the QR code on the bearing packaging to complete the material identification and verification. This step automates and refines material delivery, avoiding material mismatches and delays caused by manual delivery.

[0025] 2. Engine Block Positioning and Identification: The engine block is transported to the assembly station via a conveyor line. The RFID reader built into the station equipment 9 automatically reads the identification tag information on the engine block, including the engine model and serial number, and uploads the information to the manufacturing execution system server 15 through the station module 12. The purpose of this step is to establish a unique identification for the engine, laying the foundation for accurate binding of subsequent assembly data and avoiding the mixing of different engine models.

[0026] 3. Intelligent Selection and Inspection of Bearing Sheets: The Manufacturing Execution System (MES) server 15 retrieves the corresponding bearing sheet model requirements based on the engine's identification information and transmits the data via Industrial Ethernet 13 to the workstation touchscreen 11 and the intelligent bearing sheet rack 10. The indicator light 10.3 on the intelligent bearing sheet rack 10 illuminates, indicating the specific location of the bearing sheet to be retrieved. When the employee retrieves the bearing sheet as instructed, the photoelectric sensor switch 10.2 detects the number retrieved in real time, while the vision system (integrated into the workstation equipment 9) performs imaging inspection on the bearing sheet surface to confirm model matching and the absence of defects. If an error occurs, such as retrieving too many or too few bearing sheets, or if defects are found on the bearing sheet surface, a buzzer immediately sounds an alarm and the program is locked, requiring verification by a designated person to unlock. This step, through a triple collaborative mechanism of "visual inspection + sensor counting + position indication," solves the problem of manual bearing sheet selection errors, ensuring the bearing sheet quality is qualified before assembly.

[0027] 4. Bearing Assembly and Pre-positioning: Employees install the inspected and qualified bearings into the cylinder block main bearing seat holes. The positioning sensor built into the workstation equipment 9 checks whether the bearing installation orientation is correct, ensuring that the reserved position of the bearing oil gap meets the process requirements. The detection results are uploaded to the manufacturing execution system server 15 in real time. This step achieves precise positioning of the bearing assembly, avoiding abnormal oil gap due to installation orientation deviations.

[0028] 5. Crankshaft Pre-assembly and Intelligent Tightening: The crankshaft is precisely positioned using hoisting equipment, followed by the installation of the main bearing caps. A multi-head tightening machine (integrated into workstation equipment 9) receives tightening process parameters (including tightening sequence, segmented torque, and rotation angle requirements) from the manufacturing execution system server 15 and tightens all main bearing cap bolts step-by-step according to a preset program. During tightening, torque and rotation angle sensors collect data in real time, forming a complete tightening curve for each bolt. If the data exceeds a preset threshold, the equipment immediately stops tightening and issues an alarm. This step, through automated tightening control and real-time data acquisition, ensures consistent bolt tightening quality and avoids deviations in force caused by manual tightening.

[0029] 6. Data Binding and File Generation: The Manufacturing Execution System (MES) server 15 binds all assembly information of the engine, including the bearing batch, model, surface inspection results, bolt tightening torque, rotation angle data, and tightening curve, with the engine identification code to generate a unique digital file for each engine. This file is then synchronized to the remote server 1 for backup. This step enables traceability of data throughout the entire assembly process, providing data support for subsequent quality analysis.

[0030] 7. Qualified product circulation and document retention: The manufacturing execution system server 15 performs compliance verification on the assembly data. After the verification is qualified, a qualified signal is generated, allowing the engine to be circulated to the next process. The process engineer prints electronic work cards through printer 8 and archives them in the document room, forming a dual archive of paper and electronic documents.

Claims

1. An intelligent bearing assembly system for an aviation piston engine, comprising: It comprises: Remote server (1), enterprise resource planning system server (2), warehouse management computer (3), wireless network (4), code scanning gun (5), AGV assembly trolley (6), AGV scheduling system (7), printer (8), workstation equipment (9), bearing intelligent rack (10), workstation touch screen (11), workstation module (12), industrial Ethernet (13), Ethernet (14), manufacturing execution system server (15); The enterprise resource planning system server (2) is respectively connected with the warehouse management computer (3) and the manufacturing execution system server (15), the manufacturing execution system server (15) is connected with the AGV scheduling system (7) through the Ethernet (14), the AGV scheduling system (7) is respectively connected with the code scanning gun (5) and the AGV assembly trolley (6) through the wireless network (4), the workstation module (12) is respectively connected with the workstation touch screen (11) and the bearing intelligent rack (10) through the industrial Ethernet (13), and the manufacturing execution system server (15) is connected with the printer (8). The bearing intelligent rack (10) comprises a bearing assembly rack (10.1), a photoelectric sensor switch (10.2) and an indicator light (10.3).

2. The aero-piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 1, wherein, The assembly steps of the system comprise: Cylinder body in place and identification: the engine cylinder body reaches the workstation through the conveying line, and the RFID reads its identity information; Bearing loading and detection: the employee takes the specified type of bearing from the box, and the visual system confirms that the type is correct and the surface is defect-free; Bearing assembly: the employee assembles the bearing into the main bearing seat hole of the cylinder body, and the bearing intelligent rack (10) immediately alarms when the bearing is not qualified; Crankshaft placement and preassembly: the crankshaft is hoisted into place, and then the main bearing cover is installed; Intelligent tightening: the multi-head tightening machine tightens all the main bearing cover bolts in a predetermined order, and the system monitors and records the complete tightening curve of each bolt in real time; Data binding and uploading: all assembly data of the engine are bound with the engine identity code, and uploaded to the manufacturing execution system server (15), forming a "one machine one file" digital file; Qualified product circulation: the assembled engine with qualified data is transferred to the next process.

3. The aero-piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 2, wherein, The photoelectric sensor switch (10.2) of the bearing intelligent rack (10) is used to detect the number of bearings taken, the indicator light (10.3) is used to indicate the position of the bearing to be taken, when the taking is wrong, too much or too little, the buzzer alarms and locks the program, which needs to be released by a special person.

4. The aero-piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 2, wherein, The visual system comprises an industrial camera and an image processor, the image processor is connected with the manufacturing execution system server (15) in communication, and the bearing type checking result and the surface defect detection result are uploaded in real time.

5. The aero-piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 2, wherein, The multi-head tightening machine is provided with a torque sensor and an angle sensor, which can collect torque and angle data in real time during the tightening process, and form a tightening curve, when the data exceeds the preset threshold, the equipment stops running and alarms.

6. The aero-piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 2, wherein, The "one machine one file" digital file comprises bearing batch, type, surface detection result, bolt tightening torque, angle data and complete tightening curve, and is synchronized to the remote server (1) for backup.

7. The aviation piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 1, wherein, The AGV assembly trolley (6) receives the scheduling instruction of the manufacturing execution system server (15) through the AGV scheduling system (7), and accurately distributes the bearing bush material from the warehouse to the corresponding assembly station, and the distribution error is not more than ±5 cm.

8. The aero-piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 4, wherein, The image processor of the visual system is built-in with a defect recognition algorithm, and the defect recognition accuracy is not less than 0.01 mm, which can recognize scratches, depressions, wear and other defects on the surface of the bearing bush.

9. The aviation piston engine bearing bushing smart assembly system of claim 1, wherein, The station touch screen (11) displays the model, quantity, installation position and assembly progress of the bearing bush to be assembled in real time, and the staff can check the operation guide through the touch screen.

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