METHOD FOR MONITORING A ROTATORY DEVICE WITH MULTIPLE COMPONENTS

Description

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for assembling a rotatably operated device with several components.

[0002] In practice, during the assembly of rotating devices such as turbines, compressors, blowers, and planetary gearboxes, particularly those in aircraft gas turbine engines, components are positioned relative to each other according to their component weight to minimize the overall imbalance of the devices. This is achieved by selectively mounting the rotating components at specific positions and according to defined criteria.

[0003] However, known assembly methods have limitations regarding the robustness of the assembly process and are also time-consuming.

[0004] US Patent 2009 / 234481 A1 discloses a method for assembling rotor blades, wherein the rotor blades are marked with a machine-readable data set before assembly. WO 2020 / 202363 A1 discloses a system for manufacturing a rotating assembly, wherein a plurality of attached target elements are mounted in a circumferential direction of a rotating main body part.

[0005] Based on the prior art described above, the present disclosure aims to provide a method for assembling a rotatably operated device with several components, thereby avoiding the disadvantages described in more detail above. In addition, a control unit designed to carry out the method and a computer program for carrying out the method are to be disclosed.

[0006] This problem is solved by a method having the features of claim 1. Advantageous further developments are the subject of the dependent claims and the following description.

[0007] A method for assembling a rotary device with multiple components is described. Before assembly, each component is marked with a machine-readable data record containing at least a part number and the component weight. Based on the information in the machine-readable data records, the components are placed at a defined position on a storage device. The positions of the components on the storage device are each assigned an identifier. Each identifier for a component's position on the storage device corresponds to an identifier for the component's assembly position. The components are assembled according to these corresponding identifiers.

[0008] The method according to the present invention achieves high process robustness in a simple manner. Furthermore, the assembly of a rotary-operated device is possible within short assembly times. These advantages arise from the fact that, unlike manual acquisition of component information, the proposed method reliably prevents erroneous acquisition of component information by an operator, since the component information can be acquired automatically during the process according to the present invention. This easily prevents mispositioning and thus also faulty assembly.

[0009] Each component position on the storage device can be additionally marked with a machine-readable identifier. This machine-readable identifier can be compared to the component position identifiers before assembly. If a match is found between the component position identifiers and the machine-readable identifiers, the components can be assembled. This double check before final assembly of the device effectively prevents incorrect component assembly with minimal effort.

[0010] If the machine-readable data records of the components each include a serial number as information, the components can be assigned to a production series with minimal effort.

[0011] In a simple variant of the method according to the present disclosure, the machine-readable data sets are each implemented as a two-dimensional data matrix or as a QR code.

[0012] Furthermore, it is also possible that the machine-readable identifiers are implemented as a two-dimensional data matrix or as a QR code.

[0013] In an embodiment not covered by the scope of protection, an algorithm may be provided by means of which, depending on the information in the machine-readable data records of the components, the positions of the components on the storage device and the assembly positions are determined. This, in turn, ensures in a simple manner that the individual components of a rotatably operated device are each assembled to the desired extent and that the device is characterized by the lowest possible overall imbalance.

[0014] If the components are placed on the storage device using a pick-and-place machine, the process according to the present disclosure can be carried out fully automatically. Furthermore, it is then possible to perform the process with the desired high process robustness even without marking the positions of the components on the storage device with machine-readable identifiers.

[0015] According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, which is not within the scope of protection, a control unit is proposed which is configured to carry out the method according to the present disclosure. The control unit includes, for example, means that serve to carry out the method. These means can be hardware-related means and software-related means. The hardware-related means of the control unit are, for example, data interfaces for exchanging data with the assemblies involved in carrying out the method. Other hardware-related means are, for example, a memory for data storage and a processor for data processing. Software-related means can include, among other things, program modules for carrying out the method.

[0016] The control unit can be configured to carry out the process with at least one receiving interface designed to receive signals from signal transmitters. These signal transmitters can, for example, be sensors that detect measured values ​​and transmit them to the control unit. A signal transmitter can also be referred to as a signal sensor. The receiving interface can thus receive a signal from a signal transmitter indicating that a rotatable device is to be mounted. This signal can be generated, for example, by an operator who activates a control element that requests such a signal. Furthermore, the signal can also be generated by a manufacturing strategy that is activated and executed within the control unit or within another control unit of a machine tool or the like.

[0017] The control unit may also have a data processing unit to evaluate and / or process the received input signals or the information contained in the received input signals.

[0018] The control unit can also be equipped with a transmission interface designed to output control signals to actuators. An actuator is defined as a device that implements the commands of the control unit. These actuators can be, for example, hydraulic, electrical, or mechanical, generating or providing the axial actuating force and hydraulic fluid pressure required to create or release the press fit. If the control unit detects that a rotary device with multiple components is to be assembled, the individual components are marked by the control unit with a machine-readable data record before assembly. This record includes at least a part number and the component weight.Furthermore, the components are placed at a defined position on a storage device by the control unit, based on the information in the machine-readable data sets. Additionally, the positions of the components on the storage device are assigned an identifier by the control unit. Each identifier for a component's position on the storage device corresponds to an identifier for the component's assembly position. Finally, the components are assembled by the control unit based on these corresponding identifiers.

[0019] This in turn ensures that the assembly process can be carried out with high robustness within short assembly times.

[0020] The signals mentioned above are only examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The acquired input signals and the output control signals can be transmitted via a data bus. The control device or control unit can, for example, be designed as the central electronic control unit of a machine tool.

[0021] The solution proposed here can also be embodied as a computer program product not falling within the scope of protection, which, when running on a processor of a control device, instructs the processor by software to carry out the associated process steps in accordance with the present disclosure. In In this context, a computer-readable medium not covered by the scope of protection is also part of the subject matter of the present disclosure, on which a computer program product described above is stored in a retrievable manner.

[0022] Exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures.

[0023] It shows: Fig. 1 a longitudinal section view of a gas turbine engine; Fig. 2 an enlarged partial longitudinal section view of an upstream section of a gas turbine engine; Fig. 3 a single representation of a gearbox for a gas turbine engine; Fig. 4 a storage device and planetary gears of the transmission positioned on the storage device according to Fig. 3 ; and Fig. 5 a highly simplified flowchart of a variant of the procedure for assembling the gearbox according to Fig. 3 .

[0024] Fig. 1 Figure 10 represents a gas turbine engine with a main axis of rotation 9. The engine 10 comprises an air inlet 12 and a thrust fan 23, which generates two airflows: a core airflow A and a bypass airflow B. The gas turbine engine 10 includes a core 11, which receives the core airflow A. The engine core 11 comprises, in axial flow order, a low-pressure compressor 14, a high-pressure compressor 15, a combustion unit 16, a high-pressure turbine 17, a low-pressure turbine 19, and a core thrust nozzle 20. An engine nacelle 21 surrounds the gas turbine engine 10 and defines a bypass channel 22 and a bypass thrust nozzle 18. The bypass airflow B flows through the bypass channel 22. The fan 23 is attached to the low-pressure turbine 19 via a shaft 26 and an epicycloidal gear 30 and is driven by it. The shaft 26 is also referred to as the core shaft.

[0025] In operation, the core airflow A is accelerated and compressed by the low-pressure compressor 14 and directed into the high-pressure compressor 15, where further compression takes place. The compressed air expelled from the high-pressure compressor 15 is directed into the combustion chamber 16, where it is mixed with fuel and the mixture is combusted. The resulting hot combustion products then propagate through and drive the high-pressure and low-pressure turbines 17 and 19, respectively, before being expelled through the nozzle 20 to provide thrust. The high-pressure turbine 17 drives the high-pressure compressor 15 via a suitable connecting shaft 27, also known as the core shaft. The blower 23 generally provides the main thrust. The epicycloidal gear 30 is a reduction gear.

[0026] An exemplary arrangement for a geared fan gas turbine engine 10 is described in Fig. 2 shown. The low-pressure turbine 19 (see Fig. 1 The shaft 26 drives the fan 28, which is coupled to a sun gear 28 of the epicycloidal gear arrangement 30. Several planet gears 32, coupled to one another by a planet carrier 34, are located radially outside the sun gear 28 and mesh with it. Each planet gear is rotatably mounted on support elements 41 or planet bolts that are fixed to the planet carrier 34. The planet carrier 34 restricts the planet gears 32 to rotating synchronously around the sun gear 28, while allowing each planet gear 32 to rotate about its own axis on the support elements 41. The planet carrier 34 is coupled to the fan 23 via linkages 36 to drive its rotation about the drive axis 9. An outer gear or ring gear 38, which is coupled to a stationary support structure 24 via linkage 40, is located radially outside the planet gears 32 and meshes with them.

[0027] It is noted that the terms "low-pressure turbine" and "low-pressure compressor," as used herein, may be understood to mean the lowest-pressure turbine stage and the lowest-pressure compressor stage, respectively (i.e., excluding the blower 23), and / or the turbine and compressor stages connected by the lowest-rotating connecting shaft 26 in the engine (i.e., excluding the gearbox output shaft driving the blower 23). In some publications, the "low-pressure turbine" and "low-pressure compressor" referred to herein may alternatively be known as the "intermediate-pressure turbine" and "intermediate-pressure compressor." When using such alternative nomenclature, the blower 23 may be described as a first compression stage or the lowest-pressure compression stage.

[0028] The epicycloidal gear 30 is used in Fig. 3 A more detailed example is shown. The sun gear 28, the planet gears 32, and the ring gear 38 each have teeth around their periphery for meshing with the other gears. However, for the sake of clarity, only exemplary sections of the teeth are shown in Fig. 3 The illustration shows four planet gears 32. Although four planet gears 32 are shown, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that more or fewer planet gears 32 may be provided within the scope of protection of the claimed invention. Practical applications of an epicycloidal gear 30 generally include at least three planet gears 32.

[0029] The in Fig. 2 and 3The epicycloidal gear 30 shown as an example is a planetary gear in which the planet carrier 34 is coupled to an output shaft via linkage 36, with the ring gear 38 being fixed. However, any other suitable type of epicycloidal gear 30 can be used. As another example, the epicycloidal gear 30 can be a star arrangement in which the planet carrier 34 is held fixed, while the ring gear (or outer gear) 38 is allowed to rotate. In such an arrangement, the blower 23 is driven by the ring gear 38. As a further alternative example, the gear 30 can be a differential gear in which both the ring gear 38 and the planet carrier 34 are allowed to rotate.

[0030] It goes without saying that the in Fig. 2 and 3The arrangement shown is merely exemplary, and various alternatives are within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Any suitable arrangement for positioning the gearbox 30 in the drive unit 10 and / or for connecting the gearbox 30 to the drive unit 10 can be used, but only as an example. As a further example, the connections (e.g., the linkages 36, 40 in the example of) can be used. Fig. 2 ) between the gearbox 30 and other parts of the engine 10 (such as the input shaft 26, the output shaft, and the fixed structure 24) exhibit a certain degree of stiffness or flexibility. As another example, any suitable arrangement of bearings between rotating and stationary parts of the engine (for example, between the input and output shafts of the gearbox and the fixed structures, such as the gearbox housing) can be used, and the disclosure is not limited to the exemplary arrangement of Fig. 2 limited. For example, it is readily apparent to a person skilled in the art that the arrangement of the output and support rods and bearing positions in a star arrangement (described above) of the gearbox 30 generally differs from those exemplified in Fig. 2 would be shown to differ.

[0031] Accordingly, the present disclosure extends to a gas turbine engine with any arrangement of gear types (for example, star-shaped or planetary), support structures, input and output shaft arrangement and bearing positions.

[0032] Optionally, the gearbox can drive auxiliary and / or alternative components (e.g. the intermediate pressure compressor and / or a secondary compressor).

[0033] Other gas turbine engines to which the present disclosure may apply may have alternative configurations. For example, such engines may have an alternative number of compressors and / or turbines and / or an alternative number of connecting shafts. As another example, the [reference to be added] Fig. 1 The gas turbine engine shown features a split-flow nozzle 20, 22, meaning that the flow through the bypass channel 22 has its own nozzle, separate from and radially outside the engine core nozzle 20. However, this is not limiting, and any aspect of the present disclosure may also apply to engines in which the flow through the bypass channel 22 and the flow through the core 11 are mixed or combined upstream of (or before) a single nozzle, which may be referred to as a mixed-flow nozzle. One or both nozzles (whether mixed-flow or split-flow) may have a fixed or variable area. Although the described example relates to a turbofan engine, the disclosure may, for example, be applied to any type of gas turbine engine, such as an open-rotor engine (in which the fan stage is not surrounded by an engine nacelle) or a turboprop engine.

[0034] The geometry of the gas turbine engine 10 and its components is / are defined by a conventional axis system, which has an axial direction (aligned with the axis of rotation 9), a radial direction (in the direction from bottom to top in Fig. 1 ) and a circumferential direction (perpendicular to the view in Fig. 1 ) includes. The axial, radial, and circumferential directions are perpendicular to each other.

[0035] Fig. 4 shows a storage device 40 on which several planetary gears 32 of the transmission 30 are arranged according to Fig. 3 The planet gears 32 are stored on the storage device 40. In addition to the planet gears 32, several planet bolts 41 are also positioned on the storage device 40, each of which has a bearing 42 pre-mounted on it as a rolling bearing. The planet gears 32 are rotatably mounted on the planet bolts 41 via the bearings 42 when the gearbox 30 is assembled. Additionally, wedge sleeves 43 are also stored on the storage device 40, by means of which the planet bolts 41 can be connected to the planet carrier 34 in a rotationally fixed manner in a way known per se.

[0036] The planetary bolts 41, the bearings 42, the wedge sleeves 43, and the planet gears 32 are marked with a machine-readable data record before the gearbox 30 is assembled and before they are placed on the storage device 40. The machine-readable data records include, as information, at least a part number, a component weight, and a serial number for each component 32 to 43.

[0037] Subsequently, components 32 to 43 are positioned at a defined location in the assembly, depending on the information in the machine-readable data sets, using an algorithm. Fig. 4 The components are placed on the storage device 40 in the manner shown. Additionally, the algorithm also determines the mounting positions of components 32 to 43 on the planet carrier 34.

[0038] Furthermore, the positions of components 32 to 43 on the storage device 40 are each marked with an identifier 44, which in this case is implemented as LED lamps and can be controlled in different colors. The number of different colors of the LED lamps 44 depends on the number of different positions of components 32 to 43 in the planet carrier 34. The number of different positions typically varies between three and five. If a higher number of assembly positions needs to be considered, it is also possible, for example, to provide small screens or similar devices to identify the positions of the components on the storage device 40 and the corresponding assembly positions, for example by displaying numbers or the like.

[0039] Once the positioning of components 32 to 43 on the storage device 40 is complete, components 32 to 43 are mounted on the planet carrier 34. Each mounting position is assigned an identifier that corresponds to an identifier for the position of the component to be mounted on the storage device 40. Preferably, the identifiers of the components on the storage device 40 and the identifiers of the mounting positions of components 32 to 43 have the same color or the same numbering, thus providing visual support for determining the correct mounting position of components 32 to 43.

[0040] In addition, there is the possibility that each storage position of components 32 to 43 is or will be additionally marked with a machine-readable identifier in order to carry out a double check and avoid incorrect assembly.

[0041] Fig. 5 Figure 1 shows a highly simplified flowchart of the procedure described above. In the first step (S1), components 32 to 43 are positioned on the storage device 40 to the specified extent. In the subsequent second step (2), components 32 to 43 are scanned, or their machine-readable data records are extracted.

[0042] The information from the read data records of components 32 to 43 is used with the algorithm to determine the positions of components 32 to 43 on the storage device 40 during step S3. Subsequently, components 32 to 43 are placed on transport trolleys during step S4.

[0043] Additionally, the machine-readable identifiers of the positions of components 32 to 43 are read and compared with the identifiers of the positions of components 32 to 43. If, during the comparison of the identifiers and the machine-readable identifiers of the component positions during query step S6, it is determined that components 32 to 43 are each located on the storage device 40 at the intended positions, the components 32 to 43 are mounted on the planet carrier 34 during step S7, and the process is subsequently terminated during a further step S8.

[0044] If the query result of query step S6 is negative, the process branches back to step S1 and is repeated.

[0045] The storage device can be a table, a shelf, a board, or something similar.

[0046] The method described above is not only suitable for assembling planetary gearboxes. It is also possible to assemble compressors, turbines, and blowers in the manner described above and to achieve the lowest possible overall imbalance.

[0047] In addition, it is also possible that the planetary gear 30 includes not only the planet gears 32, the bearings 42, the planet bolts 41, the wedge sleeves 43, but also washers, oil guide plates, oil supply devices such as oil nozzles, or oil lines. Bezugszeichenliste

[0048] 9 Main axis of rotation 10 Gas turbine engine 11 Core 12 Air inlet 14 Low-pressure compressor 15 High-pressure compressor 16 Combustion unit 17 High-pressure turbine 18 Bypass thrust nozzle 19 Low-pressure turbine 20 Core thrust nozzle 21 Engine nacelle 22 Bypass duct 23 Thrust fan 24 Support structure 26 Shaft, connecting shaft 27 Connecting shaft 28 Sun gear 28A Sun gear tooth profile 30 Gearbox, planetary gear 32 Planetary gear 34 Planetary carrier 36 Linkage 38 Ring gear 40 Storage device 41 Planetary bolt 42 Bearing 43 Key sleeve 44 Identification A Core current B Bypass current S1 to S8 Step

Claims

1. Method for assembling a rotatably operable device (30) comprising multiple components (28, 32, 34, 38, 41, 42, 43), wherein the individual components (32, 41, 42, 43) are marked prior to assembly with a machine-readable data record comprising at least a part number and the component weight as information; characterized in that, the components (32, 41, 42, 43) are placed at a defined position on a storage device (40) based on the information in the machine-readable data records; wherein the positions of the components (32, 41, 42, 43) on the storage device (40) are each provided with an identifier; wherein each identifier of the position of a component (32, 41, 42, 43) on the storage device (40) corresponds to an identifier of an assembly position of the component (32, 41, 42, 43); and wherein the components (32, 41, 42, 43) are assembled based on the corresponding identifiers.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that each position of the components (32, 41, 42, 43) on the storage device (40) is additionally provided with a machine-readable identifier which is compared with the identifiers of the positions of the components (32, 41, 42, 43) prior to the assembly of the components (32, 41, 42, 43), wherein the components (32, 41, 42, 43) are mounted upon detection of matches between the identifiers of the positions of the components (32, 41, 42, 43) and the machine-readable identifiers of the positions of the components (32, 41, 42, 43).

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the machine-readable data records of the components (32, 41, 42, 43) each include a serial number as part of the information.

4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the machine-readable data records of the components (32, 41, 42, 43) each are implemented as a two-dimensional data matrix or as a QR code.

5. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the machine-readable identifiers of the positions of the components (32, 41, 42, 43) each are implemented as a two-dimensional data matrix or as a QR code.

6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the components (32, 41, 42, 43) are placed on the storage device (40) by means of an automatic placement machine.