Pulsed Fuselage Assembly with Inverted Floor Stations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fuselage fabrication processes face delays due to uneven work completion rates and the complexity of mounting and maneuvering components on factory floors, particularly when stations are placed on passenger or cargo floors, leading to out-of-position work and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a fuselage assembly system where arcuate fuselage segments are pulsed along a track with concavities facing the floor, allowing technicians to easily enter and exit for inspection and work, and enabling just-in-time delivery of materials and personnel through RFID tracking, facilitating efficient work during pauses between pulses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fuselage sections are assembled on factory floor stations, then work can be performed on components, but technicians have difficulty entering and exiting stations mounted on passenger or cargo floors
Solution Approach 1:
The fuselage section is inverted during assembly, with its concavity facing downward toward the factory floor rather than upward. This inversion allows technicians to easily access stations mounted on the floor below, eliminating the difficulty of entering and exiting stations that would otherwise be positioned above ground level on passenger or cargo floors.
2Productivity
If fuselage sections are transported continuously along the assembly line, then assembly speed increases, but setup time for work stations increases
Solution Approach 1:
Work stations are pre-positioned along the assembly line at predetermined locations corresponding to specific positions of the fuselage section. This preliminary arrangement of stations eliminates the need for setup time during the continuous transport process, as stations are already in place to receive the fuselage section at its designated location.
3Productivity
If work is performed out of sequence in different cells, then completion delays are reduced, but work quality and precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor the progress and status of work at each station along the assembly line. This feedback allows the system to detect when work is completed and adjust the transport timing accordingly, ensuring that the fuselage section moves to the next station only when previous work is complete, thereby maintaining both productivity and precision without requiring out-of-sequence work.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for fabricating a fuselage of an aircraft. The method includes: disposing arcuate sections of fuselage at a track of a factory such that concavities of the arcuate sections of the fuselage face a floor of the factory, and bearing edges of the arcuate sections of fuselage directly contact the track; advancing the arcuate sections of fuselage synchronously along the track in a process direction; and performing work within concavities of the arcuate sections of fuselage during pauses between pulses of the arcuate section of fuselage via stations that are disposed beneath the concavities and that are directly mounted to the floor of the factory.