This paper has described the knowledge modelling for the laser beam welding (LBW) process in the aircraft industry, which is a necessity for expanding its application. A set of rules and recommendations as well as a prototype handbook was developed to guide the designers and engineers for structure design, process parameter optimisation and fixture design. Some key rules were selected and validated through case studies and experiments. The results of this research can be summarised as follows: (1) Structure design rules and recommendations guide structure designers to make design suitable for LBW; (2) process planning rules and recommendations guide manufacturing engineers to optimise process parameters to achieve the required as-welded geometry; (3) fixture design rules and recommendations give basic guidelines to the fixture designers to make their design suitable for LBW; (4) the prototype handbook has contributed to the understanding of the LBW process in the aircraft industry and detailed the application of rules and recommendations. This research focused on LBW of skin-stringer connections on a fuselage panel because it is the major source of weight reduction and is a simple repeating and time consuming job which is extremely suited to LBW. The rules and recommendations for skin and stringer structure design can only be applied to the aircraft industry, which is the limitation of these rules. Furthermore, only the effect of process parameters on as-welded geometry was studied for process planning; the effects of these parameters to defects as well as the interactions of these parameters were not covered, which also limits the contribution of these rules and recommendations. Thus, the effect of process parameters on defects, such as pores and hot cracking, is a possible topic for further research, while the interactions of process parameters is another one. Both studies of these two topics are capable of enhancing the rules and recommendations. The knowledge of LBW process can be enriched if a quality control system or handbook of LBW process in the aircraft industry can be developed. The development of an advisor system which is compatible with the structure design and fixture design software can further implement these rules and recommendations.
Knowledge modelling for laser beam welding in the aircraft industry
International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology ; 66 , 5-8 ; 763-774
2013
12 Seiten, 19 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 26 Quellen
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Englisch
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