KUKA devises assembly solution for Airbus
BLACK Country robotics firm KUKA is working in collaboration with a major European aircraft manufacturer in the development of an innovative automated system for assembling complex aircraft structures.
The Halesowen firm, which was one of the West Midlands manufacturing champions at this month’s MACH event at the NEC, is carrying out the work in partnership with Airbus.
The automation specialist has devised a flexible robotic solution for performing a variety of drilling and fastening tasks on the upper and lower wing covers of a lateral wing box demonstration unit being built at the Airbus facility in Filton, near Bristol.
The wing box is due to be delivered to Airbus’s sister plant at Toulouse this summer where it will undergo a series of rigorous structural tests. The results will then be evaluated by Airbus to see if the new robotic technology is suitable for use in current as well as future aircraft programmes.
KUKA’s collaboration with Airbus is part of the Advanced Low Cost Aircraft Structures (ALCAS) project, a €100m EC-backed research scheme that aims to identify new composite manufacturing and assembly strategies.
“Airbus wanted to explore the development of a flexible, re-configurable solution that could undertake a number of tasks on a single system and offer a modular design so that other processes could be added in the future,” said Markus Gruber, KUKA’s aerospace manager.
One of the project’s main objectives was to improve efficiency by using a horizontal wing build philosophy instead of the conventional vertical manual method, a time-consuming and labour-intensive process.
Using its expertise, KUKA devised an effective assembly system that incorporates a number of innovative new technologies such as KUKA’s 18-tonne payload OmniMove, a mobile positioning device that provides an alternative to using a crane for manoeuvring the carbon fibre wing covers into the jig.
The OmniMove is also used to position a pair of platform-mounted KUKA robots for drilling holes in the lower wing cover. The assembly system also includes an identical pair of robots installed on a high-level gantry for the upper wing cover operation.
The design of the robot end has been specifically developed for the project by KUKA.
“It has proved to be a good collaboration with Airbus. This system successfully demonstrates how the latest automation technology can validate the capability for future aircraft manufacturing concepts and help transform time-consuming manual processes into efficient, high-performance operations,” added Mr Gruber.
Work undertaken for the ALCAS project will also play a role in the development of new technologies under the Next Generation Composite Wing (NGCW) programme, a multi-million pound research project headed by Airbus and involving 16 other companies including KUKA.
KUKA will also be demonstrating its aerospace solutions at the Farnborough International Air Show, which takes place July 19-25.
