Lamination Mandrel Sector Constraint System
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing systems for producing airplane fuselage sections face challenges in maintaining the angular stability of lamination mandrel sectors during the lamination process, which is crucial for achieving low dimensional tolerances, as any movement can irreparably alter the geometry of the structural section.
Innovation Solution
A constraint system is introduced between each sector of the lamination mandrel, comprising a first catch body with a cup-shaped design and a second catch body with a spherical calotte, preventing translation along specific directions by using metal elements and actuators to ensure precise positioning and maintain contact between sector edges, thereby preventing relative movement during the lamination and polymerization processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the lamination mandrel sectors are made mobile between expanded and contracted positions, then the mandrel can be extracted from the structural section, but the sectors may move relative to each other altering the geometry
Solution Approach 1:
The lamination mandrel is divided into multiple mobile sectors that can independently move between expanded and contracted positions. Each sector is equipped with its own constraint system (catch bodies with metal elements) to maintain angular stability relative to adjacent sectors, allowing the mandrel to be extracted in segments while preserving the overall geometry during the lamination process.
Solution Approach 2:
Catch bodies with spherical calotte metal elements serve as intermediary constraint mechanisms between adjacent sectors. These catch bodies prevent relative angular movement between sectors by providing controlled contact points, acting as mediators that allow sector mobility while maintaining geometric stability through the constraint system.
2Manufacturing precision
If the sectors are constrained to prevent movement, then geometric stability is maintained, but the mandrel cannot be extracted from the structural section
Solution Approach 1:
The constraint system is designed to be dynamic rather than static. The catch bodies with metal elements provide constraints during the lamination process when sectors are in the expanded position, but allow the sectors to move to the contracted position for extraction. The system transitions from a constrained state during manufacturing to an unlocked state during extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The constraint system is activated in advance during the lamination process to ensure geometric stability before the mandrel needs to be extracted. The catch bodies are positioned to prevent relative sector movement during material deposition and polymerization, then released to allow extraction movement after the structural section is complete.
3Measurement precision
If the catch bodies use multiple contact points, then positioning precision is improved, but the complexity of the constraint system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The metal elements are designed with spherical calotte (curved) surfaces that contact the inclined flat walls of the catch bodies. This spherical geometry provides stable point contact that defines precise angular positions through geometry alone, eliminating the need for complex adjustment mechanisms while maintaining high positioning precision through the inherent properties of spherical contact.
Data Source
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AI summary
A constraint system of sectors of a device (2) for producing an airplane fuselage. The lamination mandrel comprises a plurality of sectors (12) angularly spaced about the axis (7) and mobile between: an expanded lamination position in which the sectors (12) have greater rectilinear edges (13) parallel to the axis (7) arranged side by side and the external surfaces of the sectors (12) opposite the axis (7) define together said external surface (5); and a contracted disassembling position in which at least part of the sectors (12) approaches the axis (7) moving away from the trace of the surface (5) to allow extraction of the mandrel (4) from the structural section of the airplane. A constraint system is provided between each sector and the sectors adjacent thereto which guarantees a predetermined arrangement of the first sector (12-A) with respect to the second sector (12-B) adjacent thereto, preventing any translation along two directions (x-y) which lie in an adjustment plane (PZ) perpendicular to an axis RD which extends radially from the symmetry axis (7) to the external surface (5).