Turbine Stator Sector Assembly With Robotic Sealing Pad Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual assembly of turbine stators in aeronautical turbomachines is time-consuming and prone to errors, leading to musculoskeletal disorders and reduced quality due to repetitive tasks involved in inserting sealing pads and anti-wear devices, which complicates the assembly process and increases production costs.
Innovation Solution
An automated installation system that pre-assembles turbine stators using robot arms to convey, identify, clean, grease, and insert sealing pads into sectors, and position them on trays, significantly reducing operator intervention and increasing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual assembly methods are used for turbine stators, then operators can perform assembly tasks with flexibility, but assembly time is excessive (ten hours) and quality is reduced due to human error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical assembly operations with an automated robotic system. Robot arms equipped with specialized end effectors perform the insertion of sealing pads and anti-wear devices, eliminating human manual labor. This substitution achieves both reduced assembly time (from ten hours to automated cycle time) and improved precision through consistent robotic positioning and insertion forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated assembly system performs all assembly operations autonomously without continuous human intervention. The robot arms self-coordinate to position sectors, insert sealing pads, install anti-wear devices, and secure components. The system serves itself by automatically completing the entire assembly sequence, thereby eliminating the contradiction between manual flexibility and automated efficiency.
2Ease of operation
If operators perform repetitive manual tasks for inserting sealing pads and anti-wear devices, then assembly can be completed, but operators suffer from musculoskeletal disorders and quality decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces repetitive manual operations with automated robotic arms that perform insertion tasks. The robot systems eliminate operator exposure to repetitive strain by completely taking over the insertion of sealing pads and anti-wear devices. This substitution simultaneously improves ease of operation (operators are freed from repetitive tasks) and reliability (consistent robotic precision eliminates human error).
3Productivity
If automated robot arms are used for assembly, then assembly time is reduced and quality is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The automated assembly system is divided into distinct functional modules: robot arms for sector handling, separate end effectors for sealing pad insertion and anti-wear device installation, individual positioning systems, and dedicated control units. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while working together as an integrated system, achieving high productivity despite the inherent complexity through modular architecture.
4Extent of automation
If multiple robot arms are deployed for different assembly tasks, then assembly operations are automated and efficient, but the number of components and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot arms in the system are designed with multi-functionality, capable of performing multiple assembly operations including sector positioning, sealing pad insertion, anti-wear device installation, and component securing. This universality reduces the total number of specialized robot arms needed while maintaining high automation levels. Each robot arm can be reconfigured through end effector changes to perform different tasks, thereby reducing system complexity compared to having dedicated single-function robots for each operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An installation for pre-assembling the turbine stators of a turbine each formed of several juxtaposed sectors, includes: an input carriage for conveying sectors intended to form the turbine stators. Each sector includes side faces provided with slots and being associated with a given turbine stator; an output carriage having various trays, each associated with a turbine stator; an automated device for inserting sealing pads configured to interact with a sector conveyed by an automated convey pallet, comprising a robot arm for inserting sealing pads into the slots in a side face of the sector; and another robot arm for gripping a sector equipped with pads from a pallet and depositing it on the tray associated with the turbine stator to pre-assemble the turbine stator.