Robotics Is The Key To Predictable Repeatability
Bombardier said Tuesday that it expects to achieve predictable
repeatability and enhanced quality while preventing ergonomic
issues on the production line for the CSeries aircraft by using six
12-ton robots in the assembly of the cockpit and fuselage of the
jetliner. In addition, the company also expects to reduce by more
than 40 hours the cycle time needed to assemble the aircraft.
"The use of advanced robotic technology is emblematic of the
clean-sheet approach we've taken to building the CSeries aircraft,"
said Francois Minville, Vice President, CSeries Manufacturing,
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "The use of the robots will enable
us to offer a superior aircraft at the best cost to our
operators."
Until now, Bombardier aircraft were assembled largely by hand.
However, at a diameter of 12 feet, the fuselage of the CSeries
family of aircraft is larger than any airliner ever built by
Bombardier. The wider fuselage offers superior comfort for
passengers, but poses an ergonomic challenge during assembly.
Joining the fuselage sections of the aircraft by hand would require
many hours to assemble the necessary scaffolding for workers to
reach the top of the plane, as well as many more hours to move the
scaffolding down the length of the fuselage.
The robots are able to extend to a full height of 18 feet, 9
inches. From their base, they can reach the top or the bottom of
the aircraft.
CSeries Fuselage Barrel File Photo
In as little as 32 seconds, each robot can drill a small hole
and then precisely rivet or hammer a fastener to the
aluminium-lithium fuselage. For the composite fuselage sections,
the process takes 53 seconds to drill, add a sealant and then a
fastener. Four robots, working with one operator each, can join the
fuselage sections for a CSeries aircraft in 17 hours. Advanced
vision control systems ensure that each hole is drilled within
one-hundredth of an inch.
Custom-made platforms will support and move the six robots, and
end effectors, located at the end of the robotic arms, will house
tooling to perform the work. Two of the robots have already been
delivered to the Saint-Laurent Manufacturing Centre in
Montréal, where Bombardier will assemble the carbon-fibre
aft fuselage and cockpit for the CSeries aircraft. These robots
will fuse together the cockpit with a front section of the
fuselage, and also assemble the aft fuselage. Four more robots are
scheduled to be installed at the Mirabel facility, located about 30
miles north of Montréal, where final assembly of the
CSeries aircraft will take place. At Mirabel, the robots will rivet
the front section, including the cockpit and the front fuselage,
with the mid, rear and aft sections of the fuselage. Working in
tandem, one on each side of the aircraft fuselage, the four robots
will install the rivets to join the fuselage sections.
The 12-ton weight of the robots is necessary to ensure
stability, and thus precision, during drilling and riveting. Most
of the weight is located in the wheeled base platform, which allows
the robots to travel the length of the fuselage during production.
A vertical lift raises or lowers the robot arm into place along the
fuselage. The barrels of the end effector swivel into place when
each task is performed, and two lasers, aimed at cross purposes,
ensure that the fasteners are flush with the fuselage skin for
optimal quality.
CSeries Wing Testing
Robot operators and maintenance employees are being trained at
the Saint-Laurent Manufacturing Centre to work on the robots. A
fuselage test barrel, made by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC)
of China, which will supply the CSeries aircraft center fuselage,
is being used to test manufacturing concepts.
"We're adopting and adapting lean, flexible, safe and
ergonomically advanced solutions to ensure that the manufacturing
process for the CSeries aircraft is fully optimized," said Mr.
Minville. "The installation and testing of these advanced robots
demonstrates that Bombardier is moving full steam ahead in making
the CSeries aircraft a reality, a jetliner that will set a new
benchmark in the industry."
The CSeries aircraft is scheduled to enter into service in
2013.