Metrology and Tooling are considered as discrete disciplines within Manufacturing Engineering, however, assembly tooling often acts as a checking mechanism. Assembly tooling has the primary function of controlling part location during assembly; with a secondary requirement as a quality gate. In-tool checks are manual mechanical checks of the assembly, these gauging checks assume the tooling has the correct, nominal geometry. Tooling conformance is certified periodically; however these intervals can be up to three years. Further examination of the metrology requirements within the aerospace industry with respect to large scale assembly tooling identify a requirement to: reduce manual metrology checks, reduce tooling recertification time, and enable greater automation. Currently, there is a lack of integration between metrology and Wing-box assembly tooling. This research investigates how to increase manufacturing confidence with respect to tooling conformance; and, ultimately improve the manufacturing process for aero-structures, through the increased and enhanced use of metrology in the assembly tooling environment. The Metrology Enhanced Tooling for Aerospace (META) framework has been created to provide a robust framework for deploying metrology in the tooling environment. The major elements of the framework are subsequently detailed and demonstrated in three chapters: i) large volume metrology networks, for the measurement of tooling structures; testing instrument performance, quantifying and improving the uncertainty estimation, and ultimately, establishing a rapid measurement process for assembly tooling; ii) embedded metrology systems demonstrates how local measurement systems can be utilised to replace and improve on, traditional in-tool checks; and iii) metrology feedback presents an example of an automated tooling pick-up that manipulates the assembly to achieve the design intent. The contributions can be summarised as: firstly, the creation of the META framework for the deployment of metrology in assembly tooling environment, accommodating and facilitating a number of the future tooling and assembly requirements. Secondly, the establishment of a generic commissioning methodology and measurement strategy for the rapid measurement of assembly tooling to increase tooling confidence. The research output was demonstrated in a case study, through a combination of physical measurement and digital automation simulation to prove the process time was greatly decreased from current methods.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:690722 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Martin, Oliver |
| Contributors | Dhokia, Vimal ; Newman, Stephen ; Keogh, Patrick |
| Publisher | University of Bath |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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