Aircraft Wing Join System Reduces Assembly Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
The conventional method of joining aircraft wings to the fuselage is time-consuming and labor-intensive, requiring significant manual effort and occupying valuable space in the main assembly line, which hampers the overall manufacturing efficiency and throughput.
Innovation Solution
A wing assembly manufacturing system that preassembles the right and left wing sections with the center wing section in a secondary assembly line, using a positioning system, metrology, and motion control to efficiently join and process the wing assembly, including drilling, fastening, system installation, sealing, and testing before transferring it to the main assembly line, thereby reducing assembly time and space requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional drilling and fastening methods are used to join wings to fuselage, then reliable structural connection is achieved, but assembly time and labor requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The wing assembly process is divided into two distinct phases: pre-assembly of wing sections (right wing, left wing, center wing section) into a complete wing assembly, and subsequent attachment to fuselage. This segmentation allows parallel processing where wing assembly can be completed independently before fuselage integration, reducing overall assembly time while maintaining structural reliability through systematic joining procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The complete wing assembly is pre-assembled and prepared in advance before being attached to the fuselage. All necessary components (spars, ribs, skins, fasteners) are positioned and secured during the pre-assembly phase, allowing the final fuselage attachment to be a streamlined operation rather than a complex multi-step process, thereby reducing assembly time without compromising connection reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional wing assembly methods are used, then proper positioning and alignment are achieved, but space requirements in the main assembly line increase
Solution Approach 1:
The assembly process is segmented into pre-assembly of wing sections and final fuselage integration. During pre-assembly, positioning devices and alignment tools are concentrated in a dedicated workspace, reducing the spatial footprint required in the main assembly line. The segmented approach allows precise positioning operations to be performed in a compact pre-assembly area rather than requiring extensive space in the main assembly line.
Solution Approach 2:
Positioning devices and alignment fixtures serve as intermediaries during the pre-assembly phase, enabling precise positioning of wing sections in a confined workspace. These intermediary tools facilitate accurate alignment without requiring large assembly line spaces, as the positioning function is provided by dedicated fixtures rather than by the main assembly line infrastructure.
3Strength
If manual drilling and fastening operations are performed, then secure wing-to-fuselage attachment is achieved, but labor requirements and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment process is segmented into pre-assembly operations (positioning, drilling, fastening of wing sections to each other) and final fuselage attachment. This segmentation simplifies the overall process complexity by breaking down the complex multi-step operation into manageable phases, each with standardized procedures. The pre-assembly phase establishes secure connections between wing sections, reducing the complexity of the final fuselage attachment operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Drilling and fastening operations are performed in advance during the pre-assembly phase, preparing the complete wing assembly before fuselage attachment. This preliminary action simplifies the final attachment process by pre-positioning all fasteners and securing wing sections, reducing the complexity of manual operations required during main assembly line operations while maintaining attachment strength.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of manufacturing a wing assembly for joining to a fuselage of an aircraft includes the steps of loading a center wing section into a wing join station, loading a right wing section into the wing join station proximate to the center wing section, loading a left wing section into the wing join station proximate to the center wing section, joining the right and left wing sections to the center wing section to form a complete wing assembly, moving the complete wing assembly to a processing station, performing drilling operations on the complete wing assembly at the processing station, installing fasteners in the complete wing assembly at the processing station, and moving the complete wing assembly to a wing-body join station to join the complete wing assembly to the fuselage.