DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATION IN

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY (ASSEMBLY

PERSPECTIVE)
Bulon Ch. Hazarika, 15-22-308, CAD CAM & Automation, NIT Silchar, Assam

Abstract: Faced with ballooning

order backlogs, aerospace builders
and automation suppliers are
exploring new ways to automate a
broader
range
of
aircraft
manufacturing processes. The goal is
to deliver higher-volume commercial
aircraft like the Boeing 737 and 777
more quickly to customers, but also to
improve the consistency and safety of
the final product. To pick up the
production pace, manufacturers and
their suppliers are refining the
automation systems used for drilling,
filling and fastening operations and
finding new opportunities for
automation.
INTRODUCTION:
The aerospace industry is known to be
very conservative. With thousands of
fastener locations that need to be
drilled and filled to complete a plane,
drilling and fastening remain the
largest area of opportunity for
automated robotics. With the help of
new developments the Automation in
Aerospace area has become more
interesting and attractive in the

research and development section of

aerospace/defense industries.
Assembly:
Assembly
integrative

is

inherently

brings parts together

brings
people,
departments, companies
together
can be the glue for
concurrent engineering
Assembly is where the product
comes to life
there arent many onepart products
Assembly is where quality is
delivered
quality is delivered by
chains of parts, not by
any single most important
part

Manual vs. Automated Assembly:

People just do it
Machines cant just do it
It was hoped that robots could
just do it
Early robot research focused on
imitating what people do
o behave flexibly
o use their senses
o fix mistakes

The Benefits of Automation:

Reduce Production Cost - A
quick return on investment
(ROI) outweighs the initial
setup costs. All of the following
automation advantages reduce
production cost.
Decrease in Part Cycle
Time - A lean
manufacturing line is crucial for
increasing
efficiency. Robotics can work
longer and faster which
increases production rate.
Improved
Quality
and
Reliability - Automation is
precise and repeatable. It
ensures
the
product
is
manufactured with the same
specifications and process every
time. Repairs are few and far
between.

Better
Floor
Space
Utilization - By decreasing a
footprint of a work area by
automating parts of your
production line, you can utilize
the floor space for other
operations and make the process
flow more efficient.
Reduce Waste - Robots are so
accurate that the amount of raw
material used can be reduced,
decreasing costs on waste.
Saves Local Jobs - Instead of
moving your company to a
location with lower labor costs,
incorporate automation in a few
key areas. This will increase
your product through-put and
increase your profit so you can
keep your company in the
current location.
Stay Competitive - Reduction in
schedule and cost attracts
customers. Automation helps
provide the highest throughput
with
least
amount
of
spending.
Robotics as a Driver for Assembly
Automation:
flexibility vs efficiency
generality vs specificity
responsiveness or adaptation vs
preplanning
absorption of uncertainty vs
elimination of uncertainty
lack of structure vs structure
2

Therefore its not going to provide a

good business case.
Why automation of assembly
processes in Aerospace Industry is
necessary?
Aerospace production is a relatively
slow, Low-volume, high-value process
compared to other manufacturing. The
volume demand is not the product
throughput, but rather the high number
of process steps required.
Therefore to overcome the
above problems we need automation
of assembly process in aerospace.

Problems
Industry:

faced

in

Aerospace

Since in aerospace industry the

production floor area is very large and
also the parts are very large in general
therefore automation of the whole area
in not fully possible in terms of
technical as well as cost point of view.
In aerospace industry the
production timeline for any process is
measured in days or weeks whereas in
automotive industry its measured in
seconds, so we do not have a robot
sitting idle for a week after its job is
done in automotive whereas its
opposite in case of aerospace.

Therefore a lot of the demand in

aerospace industry is either for largescale systems that can automate an
entire process from end-to-end, or
smaller-scale systems that are flexible
enough so that they can be used for
different task in a process.

Steps being opted or taken for

overcoming the problems:
1. Boings Big Dream:
In this instance, Boeing engineers are
opting for automated assembly.
According to one observer, this
optimization can go so far as to
eliminate the ability to produce the
parts manually.
An additional issue that influences
automation allocation is assembler
reliability. Boeing can effectively
build the 787 with manual labor,
argues the observer, but not on days
when people perform poorly or fail to
show up for work. There are also
repetitive jobs with ergonomic risks
that can be addressed through
automation.
2: GKN Aerospace has also embarked
on a project to automate the assembly
of aircraft structures at its plant in
Redditch, England. The goal is to
create consistently high-quality wing
3

structures 30 percent faster than is

possible
today
using
manual
production processes.
State-of-the-art robotics technology
enables the project to be flexible
enough to assemble either fuselage or
wing structures. Production processes
being developed include lightweight
fixturing; reconfigurable tooling;
automated part positioning; assisted
deposition of sealant; metrologyassisted robotics; lightweight fastening
heads for single-sided fasteners;
automated scanning for accurate
countersink drilling; and an automated
fastener inspection system.
3: Moving Massive Parts
Making aircraft production rates also
means eliminating some of the large
monument fixtures and minimizing the
time-consuming crane moves often
required with large airframes. With the
latest automated guided vehicles
(AGV) from automation developer
Fori Automation Inc. (Shelby
Township, MI), aircraft builders can
lower costs associated with delays for
crane moves, while gaining precision
positioning with new servo-controlled
AGVs, which also include autoleveling technology that helps ensure
accuracy.

Summary:
In the past couple of years, however,
the general attitude, in terms of
assembly tasks, has really changed. In
fact, a complete mentality switch has
been observed in the aerospace
industry. Aircraft assembly companies
like Boeing and Lockheed Martin tend
to use robotics for some of their
applications. Most of the tasks that
require precision and rigidity on big
parts are now executed by industrial
robots. Since aircraft programs last
from 10 to 30 years, the payback on a
simple assembly task can be very
beneficial. Industrial automation is
now essential for the aerospace
industry.
Thus now in aerospace industry
Investing in automation is now
considered a necessity, rather than an
option.

Reference:
1: A Driving Need for Design
Automation
within
Aerospace
Engineering by Smith, A.L. and
Bardell, N.S. (research paper)
2: SME advanced manufacturing
media group
3: Aerospace Mfg. education
4: Assembly magazine
4