Force Assisted Assembly of the Airbus A350 XWB · 2019-01-08 · FORCE ASSISTED ASSEMBLY OF THE...
4
FORCE ASSISTED ASSEMBLY OF THE AIRBUS A350 XWB Qatar Airways expects to receive its first A350-1000 as launch operator in the second half of 2017. The A350-1000 is part of the A350 XWB family and is Airbus’ largest and most powerful twin-engined airliner ever. The major A350 XWB sections like fuselage, wings, engines and tail are built by Airbus’ European production facilities in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. At the A350 XWB final assembly line (FAL) in Toulouse the aircraft then comes together like a well-planned, high-tech puzzle. The A350 XWB fuselage is made up of three main sections - front, center and aft. The sections are joined together at the first main assembly station, P50. The landing-gear is also joined here. Once this stage is completed, the fuselage is transferred to station P40 where the wings and tail sections are joined. For maximum flexibility, the final assembly line can be used for both A350-900 and -1000 models. The process of mating and joining large airframe subassemblies is a complex task. Gravitation and environmental conditions cause geometric deformation. Particularly for components made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), which is used extensively on the A350 XWB. To overcome the challenges of locating and positioning large airframe structures, a measurement assisted assembly system is used. An array of multi-axis positioners lift, move, and align the fuselage and wing structures to guarantee best fit among them. Protecting the large structures during handling is of paramount importance. With the aid of load cells mounted in the positioner's drive mechanism, the forces acting on the structure are monitored during movement. This ensures strain-free handling, and thus prevents the parts from damaging. In addition, geometric deformations are monitored and compensated for during part-to-part assembly, ensuring unstressed joining of the airframe sections.
Transcript of Force Assisted Assembly of the Airbus A350 XWB · 2019-01-08 · FORCE ASSISTED ASSEMBLY OF THE...
FORCEASSISTEDASSEMBLYOFTHEAIRBUSA350XWB
QatarAirwaysexpectstoreceiveitsfirstA350-1000aslaunchoperatorinthesecondhalfof2017.TheA350-1000 ispartof theA350XWB family and isAirbus’ largest andmostpowerful twin-enginedairlinerever.ThemajorA350XWBsectionslikefuselage,wings,enginesandtailarebuiltbyAirbus’EuropeanproductionfacilitiesinFrance,Germany,SpainandtheUK.AttheA350XWBfinalassemblyline(FAL)inToulousetheaircraftthencomestogetherlikeawell-planned,high-techpuzzle.
TheA350XWBfuselageismadeupofthreemainsections-front,centerandaft.Thesectionsarejoinedtogetheratthefirstmainassemblystation,P50.Thelanding-gearisalsojoinedhere.Oncethisstageiscompleted,thefuselageistransferredtostationP40wherethewingsandtailsectionsarejoined. Formaximum flexibility, the final assembly line canbeused for bothA350-900 and -1000models.
Theprocessofmatingand joining largeairframesubassemblies isacomplex task.Gravitationandenvironmentalconditionscausegeometricdeformation.Particularlyforcomponentsmadeofcarbonfiber reinforced polymer (CFRP), which is used extensively on the A350 XWB. To overcome thechallengesof locatingandpositioning largeairframestructures,ameasurementassistedassemblysystemisused.Anarrayofmulti-axispositionerslift,move,andalignthefuselageandwingstructurestoguaranteebestfitamongthem.Protectingthe largestructuresduringhandling isofparamountimportance.Withtheaidofloadcellsmountedinthepositioner'sdrivemechanism,theforcesactingonthestructurearemonitoredduringmovement.Thisensuresstrain-freehandling,andthuspreventsthepartsfromdamaging.Inaddition,geometricdeformationsaremonitoredandcompensatedforduringpart-to-partassembly,ensuringunstressedjoiningoftheairframesections.
Thetotalassemblysystemincludes300loadcells.Singleaxisloadcellsmonitorlift(Fz)andtri-axialloadcellsmonitortheforceduringassembly(Fx,FyandFz).Allloadcellshavedual-bridgeoutputtoallowforredundancyinthesystem.TheloadcellsareconnectedtoaGantnerQ.bloxxmeasurementsystem.Atotalof150Q.bloxxA101modulesareusedtoperformtheprimaryforcemonitoringtasks.Inaddition,300Q.bloxxA102modulesareusedforredundantmonitoring.
Thedistancebetweenaloadcellandmonitoringsystemmaybeasfarapartis75meters.Locatingthesignalconditionersclosetotheactualpointsofmeasurementisoneofthekeyrequirementswhendesigning a measurement assisted assembly system. The Q.bloxx’s optimum channel granularity,combinedwiththeflexibilitytofreelymixanddistributemodules,offersAirbusmaximumflexibility.The modules communicate to a centrally located Q.station controller via RS-485. The Q.stationcontrollerhandlesallthedataacquisition,synchronization,andcontroltasks.Thedatatransmissionfollowsaveryefficientprotocolwithabaudrateofupto48MBaud.Despitethedistributedset-up,measurementisinsyncwithajitterlessthan1µs.Thisarchitecturewarrantsreliablemeasurementresultsinanindustrialenvironment,avoidingcablecomplexity.
TheassemblylinemonitoringsystemincludesaSchneiderElectricSafetyPLC.Theopen-architectureQ.stationcontrollercommunicateswiththeSafetyPLCviaModusTCP/IP.ByseparatingtheQ.stationcontrollerfromthemeasurementmodules,communicationandinteroperabilitywiththemonitoringsystemissignificantlyoptimized.Inaddition,asinterfaceorperformancerequirementsevolve,itiseasy forAirbus toupgrade thecontrolleralone leavingmuchof thesystem investment intactand‘futureproof’.
The Q.bloxx A101 and A102 have on-board microprocessors, 24-bit A/D converters, anti-aliashardwarefiltersandfull3-wayisolationupto500VDConeverychannel.Themeasurementmodulessupportsamplingratesofupto100kHzperchannel.But,transmittingenormousamountsofrawdataoveranetworkputstremendousloadonnetworkresources.EachQ.bloxxmodulescomeswithanFPGAthatallowsforfullsignalconditioninganddataprocessingatthepointatwhichthesensordataenters themeasurement system. Only the data that has process-relevant information, likemeanaverage,min/maxandpeakspikemeasurement,issendtotheassemblylinemonitoringsystem.Thisavoidsnetworklatencyandthusimprovingresponsetimes.
Airframeassemblycanaccount forasmuchas40% of the total aircraft manufacturing costs.Operationalavailabilityoftheassemblysystemisofupmost importance.EachQ.bloxxmoduleconnects to a socket that has a built-in flashmemory chip. A copy of the entire moduleconfiguration is stored in thesocket.So,whenreplacing a faultymodule there is noneed formanuallyre-configuringthenewmoduleorthemonitoring system. Modules can be replacedwhiletheyare inactualoperation,withouttheneed of shutting down power. It takes thesystem5secondstoclonetheconfigurationfromthesockettothenewmodule.Measurementwillcontinueautomaticallywhentheconfigurationhasbeenrestored.TheQ.bloxx“HotSwap”featureallows forefficient service&maintenanceof themeasurement system,minimizingdowntimeandincreasingefficiencyoftheFinalAssemblyLine.♦
StephanPloegmanisbusinessdevelopmentmanagerforaerospaceatGantnerInstruments.
Distributed measuring systems may easily be confi gured with our Q.bloxx modules and a test controller (several available). The modules are connected to the test controller via serial RS-485 interfaces with very high data rates. Despite the distributed set-up, measurement is in
sync with a maximum jitter of 1μs. The test controllers provide different interfaces for PC and the automation system depend-ing on the controller type.
A special advantage of this structure is the simultaneous availability of the mea-
Interface for transmitting high volumes of data, e.g. for logging applications
CAN data may be read and written in synchronization with the module signals.
* further communication protocols are in preparation
parallel
Deterministic communication for automation tasks via fi eldbus systems*
Ethernet TCP / IP
EtherCAT
Profi bus-DP
Modular Measuring Systems surement data in real time through a deterministic real-time interface, and the block by block transmission of large amounts of the same data over standard Ethernet.
Q.series Distributed Set-Up
1110
Fig1A350XWBMainAssemblyStationP50
Fig2Q.bloxxMeasurementSystemforAssemblyLineMonitoring
Fig3Q.bloxxforDecentralized,FastandAccurateMeasurement
Fig4Q.bloxxInnovative‘HotSwap’Functionality
