Mobile Fuselage Assembly Fixtures for Flexible Aircraft Production
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for building aircraft fuselages are labor-intensive, time-consuming, ergonomically challenging, and costly, often requiring specialized facilities and equipment, and are unable to accommodate different types and shapes of fuselages.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous flexible manufacturing system comprising drivable towers, fixtures, and mobile systems that autonomously join fuselage panels and support structures, utilizing a distributed utility network to provide power, communications, and air without disrupting system movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual fastening operations are used with human operators and handheld tools, then flexibility in operator positioning is maintained, but labor intensity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual handheld fastening tools with automated fastening equipment mounted on mobile platforms. The automated systems perform drilling, countersinking, and fastener installation operations without human operators directly manipulating tools, thereby increasing assembly speed while the mobile platforms maintain positioning flexibility by moving to required locations around the fuselage.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile automated fastening systems are equipped with their own positioning and navigation capabilities, allowing them to autonomously move to required work positions around the fuselage. This self-service capability eliminates the need for human operators to manually position themselves while maintaining the flexibility to access different assembly locations.
2Manufacturing precision
If specialized assembly facilities with fixed equipment are used, then manufacturing precision and mold line compliance are improved, but facility flexibility and adaptability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs mobile platforms that can dynamically reposition around different fuselage types and configurations. These platforms maintain manufacturing precision through automated positioning systems and controlled movement, while their mobility provides the adaptability to work on various fuselage shapes and sizes without requiring specialized fixed facilities for each configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile automated fastening systems are designed as universal equipment that can service multiple fuselage types and assembly configurations. Rather than requiring dedicated fixed equipment for each fuselage type, the same mobile platforms can be repositioned and reconfigured to accommodate different aircraft models, thereby providing both precision and adaptability.
3Productivity
If automated fastening systems are implemented, then productivity and assembly rate improve, but system complexity and initial cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The automated fastening system is divided into separate mobile platforms, each equipped with specific fastening equipment for particular operations (drilling, countersinking, fastener installation). This segmentation allows the complex automated functions to be distributed across multiple independent units, making the overall system more manageable while maintaining high productivity through coordinated operation of the platform fleet.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for building a fuselage assembly for an aircraft. A number of fixtures may be drive across a floor to an assembly area to form an assembly fixture. The fuselage assembly may be built on the assembly fixture.