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Variance Aware Determinate assembly Integrated System

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - VADIS (Variance Aware Determinate assembly Integrated System)

Reporting period: 2020-10-01 to 2022-09-30

The VADIS project aims to develop innovative and ground breaking assembly methods and solutions for cost effective wing manufacture for the future regional aircraft based on reverse engineering, intelligent process adaption, and variability aware processes and tooling. The project will develop and implement new digital design and simulation techniques, combined with highly efficient manufacturing solutions which will be rigorously tested and validated to deliver an integrated future wing box assembly cell. VADIS will produce an integrated wing box assembly cell for future regional aircraft, taking advantage of the latest advances in metrology, digital manufacturing and process adaption to achieve part-to-part assembly.

The main conclusions are
-A measurement and assembly jig has been installed at the Topic Manager's site, and commissioned by the VADIS consortium.
-Measurement equipment was compared, and the chosen system demonstrated to be capable of measuring holes and surface features in the wing panels to sufficient accuracy.
-Processes were developed to extract measurements and prepare a dataset that defines the manufacturing data for the ribs, including position optimisation and controls on the update of holes and surfaces, according to the Topic Manger's requirements.
-A script was developed to update CATIA models so that a Digital Twin of the existing parts was created, and updated models for the mating components could be manufactured.
-The manufactured ribs of the mid-scale wingbox were assembled to the parts.
-Future work will include measurement of the full-scale RA-AIDP panels, when they are available, and assembly of the full-scale wingbox.
In Work Package 1, the datum flow chains in the RA-IADP wing were studied, and the relationships between tolerances and Assembly Key Characteristics were modelled using a statistical approach. This allowed an uncertainty budget to be calculated.

In work package 2, the assembly of reduced-size wingbox was simulated in 3DCS Computer Aided Tolerancing software, to calculate the variation in key characteristics. This used expected manufacturing tolerances, but will in future use the expected uncertainties of the measurement system to simulate the assembly using a part-to-part assembly method. A 3DCS model was validated against a mathematical approach using homogeneous transformations.

In work package 3, the requirements of the VADIS cell were refined with the Topic Manager, and potential solutions proposed and decided upon. This included various metrology systems capable of measuring features on the wingskins, and various options for measuring cell layout. Measurement tests were completed on representative samples provided by the Topic Manager to ensure suitability of the measurement system and associated software for the specific use case.

In work package 4, the uncertainty of the measuring system was further investigated, including its ability to measure the required features and interface zones. The scanning paths and measurement extraction parameters were studies and optimised. The position of the ribs was optimised to minimise the amount of shim material remaining at the upper skin IML interface. The measurement data was used to construct a reverse engineered “digital twin” of the scanned components, and project the relevant features into the models of mating components to allow CNC machining and thus enable part-to-part assembly.

In work package 5, the conceptual design presented at the preliminary design review was turned into a detailed design for acceptance at the critical design review. Methods of holding the wingskins in their nominal positions were developed. To ensure the jigs can be used with future variation in wing design, methods of resetting the jigs to cope with different product configurations were also established.

In work package 6, the jigs were manufactured and assembled. Sub-assemblies and sub-systems were tested to ensure their performance met the requirements of the project. The jigs were shipped to the University of Nottingham's Centre for Aerospace Manufacturing, where development work could continue with real components.

In work package 7, refinement of the VADIS processes is underway. Representative aerospace components have been mounted in the VADIS jigs and scanned using state-of-the-art metrology equipment. Measurement data was processed by custom VADIS programs to transferrable datasets, which are then used by a VADIS digital twin creation script to automate modification of the CATIA models. The models can be used to check the quality of the wing panels, and for manufacturing mating components for subsequent one-way assembly.

In work package 8, the mid-scale wingbox parts, VADIS jigs and measurement equipment was shipped to the Topic Manager in Pomigliano D'Arco under Article 250 Temporary Admission import rules. The jig was installed and commissioned by the VADIS consortium, and the VADIS measurement update processes were demonstrated.

In work package 9, the VADIS processes were developed for the full-scale RA-IADP wingbox demonstrator. Although parts were not available, projects were provided to the topic manager for controlling the measurement process, and a "nominal" measurement dataset was used to demonstrate that VADIS processes could be used to update the CATIA models according to the Topic Managers requirements, including position optimisation of the ribs to minimise shim.

In work package 10, the project management was controlled through the use of risk registers and dissemination and exploitation plans.
VADIS has developed key technologies for the manufacture and assembly of the innovative wing to be integrated into the R-IADP Flying Test Bed 1.

An optimised metrology philosophy for wing skin geometry data collection and an intelligent informed hardware selection process ensured that the validated accuracy of the metrology system is achieved through the work volume and not just in selected preferred locations. This has increased the validity and accuracy of the digital twin of the wing skin. An optimisation algorithm that can satisfy the design requirements and manufacturing capabilities of the processes involved for each of the skin sets that enter into the cell.

This project has developed a method to pre-determine the optimised shim and fettling requirements before the components are physically assembly by using the real measured component geometry to create the interfaces of the mating parts eliminating the reliance on fixture-based interface management. This has ensured that when the components are considered for assembly the interfaced have already been defined and manufactured ensuring a gapless, rework-free assembly process.

The project has delivered a novel, robust and high-fidelity method to adaptively update the digital twins of the wing components. This approach resulted in an updated CAD model of firstly the skin, intelligently reducing the big data from the measurement system into useful smaller data for the CAD model. Using the holes in the skin panel as the master, the ‘slave’ holes in spars and ribs are subsequently automatically updated. The updated CAD models for these parts then allow the NC code for drilling the hole patterns to adapted such that these match the hole patterns of the skin, thus enabling part-to-part assembly, enabling autonomous or assisted adaption of the wing manufacturing process.
Mid-scale wingbox during assembly at Topic Manager's site (1)
VADIS metrology system measuring wing components
VADIS cell installed at University of Nottingham's Aerospace Technology Centre
Mid-scale wingbox during assembly at Topic Manager's site (2)
Mid-scale ribs assembled to lower panel at Topic Manager's site