To reduce production costs of the F/A-18 strike fighter, McDonnell Aircraft Company chose to automate the aircraft wing drilling procedure. The resulting automated machine cell has six assembly stations serviced by four numerically controlled 5-axis drill columns to drill the 7000 fastener holes per wing. Each drill column is tied to MCAIR's Direct Numerical Control system, which is in turn linked to the CAD system used by the part programmers. A vision system was included to improve accuracy by finding the exact position of component parts to be drilled. A minicomputer was added to correlate vision data with parts, and to correct part programs when needed. Tooling was required to hold assemblies firmaly, but not interfere with vision system operation. A position monitor and tool identification subsystem were used to insure accuracy and hole quality. Subsystems were developed in-house or purchased as vendor packages, but all interfacing was done by MCAIR. The resulting system represents the company's first automated system in an assembly area. This paper, in addition to describing the wing drilling system more fully, will address the planning, tradeoffs, and coordination necessary between different functional groups to effectively integrate a multi-system project. The importance of being able to view the system as a whole and visualize the interactions that occur was found to be vital to development and troubleshooting, and will also be discussed.
F/A-18 automated assembly drilling
Automatische Anlage zum Bohren der Tragflaechen des Kampfflugzeugs F/A-18 fuer die Montage
1985
9 Seiten, 5 Bilder
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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