Wire Bundle Form Board Assembly Using Digital Layout and Robotics
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and inefficiency of manually creating and storing customized form boards for various wire bundle configurations in aircraft electrical systems, which requires significant resources and delays production when design changes occur.
Innovation Solution
Automation technology is employed to design and assemble form boards using robots, with software generating robot control files from engineering data, allowing for rapid reconfiguration and elimination of storage needs by determining the optimal placement of form board devices based on engineering specifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If customized form boards are manually created and stored for each wire bundle configuration, then the wire bundle assembly can be performed with proper configuration, but the cost and storage requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical form boards with digital models stored in a database. The digital model contains all configuration information (device types, positions, orientations) needed to reconstruct any form board. This copying approach eliminates the need to store multiple physical form boards while maintaining configuration accuracy, as the same digital model can be used repeatedly to generate different wire bundle configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system stores form board configurations as parameterized data (device types, positions, orientations) rather than fixed physical structures. By changing the parameters in the digital model, the system can generate different form board configurations on demand without creating new physical boards, thus reducing storage requirements while maintaining configuration reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple customized form boards are created for different wire bundle configurations, then various wire bundle designs can be accommodated, but the time and cost for creating and maintaining form boards increase
Solution Approach 1:
The digital model acts as a master template that can be copied and instantiated multiple times for different wire bundle configurations. This eliminates the need to manually create new form boards for each configuration change, as the digital model can be rapidly replicated and modified computationally, maintaining adaptability while reducing preparation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The form board configuration is pre-planned and stored as digital data before actual wire bundle assembly. This preliminary digital preparation allows for rapid reconfiguration by simply loading different parameter sets from the database, eliminating the time-consuming manual creation and modification of physical form boards when design changes occur.
3Adaptability or versatility
If manual methods are used to assemble form boards, then flexibility in configuration is maintained, but productivity and efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical assembly of form boards with automated robotic systems guided by digital models. The robot can precisely position and attach form board components based on digital instructions, maintaining configuration flexibility through programmable control while dramatically increasing assembly speed and productivity compared to manual methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static manual assembly to dynamic automated assembly where the robot can adapt its movements and positioning based on real-time data from the digital model. This allows the system to maintain flexibility in handling different configurations while achieving high productivity through automated, rapid repositioning and assembly operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for designing and assembling form boards with attached wire routing devices for use in wire bundle assembly. The assembly method comprises: (a) establishing a coordinate system of a form board having a multiplicity of holes; (b) using a computer system to determine locations of form board devices of different types with reference to the coordinate system of the form board based on engineering data specifying a wire bundle configuration; and (c) fastening the form board devices of different types to respective holes of the form board having centers closest to respective locations determined in step (b). The form board devices may be inserted robotically or manually.