Shimless Assembly Synchronization for Aircraft Wing Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional manufacturing processes for structures like aircraft wings face inefficiencies due to gaps caused by manufacturing tolerances, requiring the use of shims, which increase costs and complexity, and often necessitate multiple assembly and disassembly steps.
Innovation Solution
Predicting manufacturing dimensions using historical data and scanning parts to determine actual dimensions, allowing for partial or full manufacturing of second parts before the first part is fully scanned, and modifying parts to fit within predetermined tolerances without the need for shims.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional manufacturing processes are used with separate manufacturing and assembly of structural components, then manufacturing flexibility is maintained, but manufacturing time increases and productivity decreases due to multiple assembly-disassembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by manufacturing the second part before the first part is fully scanned and measured. The system predicts dimensions of the first part using historical data and begins manufacturing the second part concurrently, eliminating the sequential wait time traditionally required for measurement and shim fabrication. This overlapping of manufacturing operations significantly reduces total manufacturing cycle time.
2Manufacturing precision
If shims are used to fill gaps between components, then assembly fit is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the dimensional parameters of the second part based on predicted measurements of the first part. Instead of using shims to compensate for dimensional variations, the system adjusts the manufacturing parameters of the second part directly, allowing it to fit the first part without requiring additional shim components. This eliminates complexity while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the shim component from the assembly process. By predicting dimensions and manufacturing the second part to fit the first part directly, the system removes the need for separate shim fabrication, measurement, and installation steps, thereby reducing assembly complexity and component count.
3Manufacturing precision
If extreme tolerances are enforced to eliminate gaps, then assembly fit is improved, but manufacturing cost increases and feasibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the approach from enforcing extreme tolerances on all components to using predictive dimensioning and adaptive manufacturing. The system predicts the actual dimensions of the first part and manufactures the second part with adjusted parameters to match, achieving good fit with normal tolerances and making manufacturing more feasible and cost-effective.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods aim to reduce and/or eliminate the need for shims in manufacturing assemblies, such as in manufacturing of aircraft wings. Exemplary methods include predicting a set of predicted manufacturing dimensions within a range of predetermined allowances for a first part, manufacturing the first part, scanning the first part to determine a set of actual manufacturing dimensions for the first part, and at least beginning manufacturing a second part before the scanning the first part is completed. The second part may be manufactured based on the set of predicted manufacturing dimensions for the first part. Once the scan of the first part is completed, the set of predicted manufacturing dimensions may be compared to a set of actual manufacturing dimensions to check for any non-compliant deviances between the predicted and actual manufacturing dimensions. Repairs and local re-scans may be performed in the areas of the non-compliant deviances, which may streamline manufacturing.