In this study, the development of innovative tooling and end-effector systems for the assembly of a multifunctional thermoplastic fuselage is presented. The increasing demand for cleaner and new aircraft requires utilising novel materials and technologies. Advanced thermoplastic composites provide an excellent material option thanks to their weldability, low density, low overall production cost, improved fracture toughness and recyclability. However, to fully appreciate their potentials, new manufacturing approaches and techniques are needed. Hence, this project develops three end-effector solutions to demonstrate the feasibility of assembling a full-scale multifunctional-integrated thermoplastic lower fuselage shell, including the integration of a fully equipped floor and cargo structure. The developed assembly solution comprises three individual yet well-integrated tooling systems that allow housing the skin and assembly; picking, placing and welding of the assembly parts, i.e. clips and stringers; and welding of frames and floor beam sub-assemblies. The process of developing these systems including the end-user requirements, technical challenges, tooling and end-effectors design and manufacturing process are detailed in this paper. ... Read more

The strict quality requirements for aerospace composite structures give rise to costly quality control procedures. In automated fibre placement (AFP) these procedures rely heavily on manual inspection leading to long machine downtime periods and a slower production process overall. A preventive non-destructive evaluation technique of the composite laminate quality based on an online geometric analysis of the fibre using a laser profile sensor has been developed. This sensor has been mounted on a KUKA KR210 R2700 Extra 10-axis robot and software integration was performed using Robot Operating System (ROS). The robot is equipped with interchangeable end-effectors including an automated fibre placement end-effector, developed at TU Delft. The robot mounted laser profile sensor, in combination with robot positional data, was used to create a 3D model of the fibre. This model can be used in two ways. In real-time it can be used to perform an online assessment of the laminate quality including layup geometry, positioning with respect to a reference location, and detection of in-plane buckling defects. Furthermore the full geometric model obtained can be used to validate mathematical or numerical simulations of the fibre placement process and investigate the effects of process variables on the quality of laminate placement and defect creation. In an industrial process this evaluation method can provide full traceability of the part-product quality. The data can both be used during the qualification of a newly designed laminate, but also for quality assurance during series production. ... Read more

The strict quality requirements for aerospace composite struc- tures give rise to costly quality control procedures. In automated bre placement (AFP) these procedures rely heavily on manual work and inspection. This research aims at performing preventative non-destructive evaluation of composite laminate quality based on an online geometric analysis of the placed bre. A robot mounted laser pro le sensor, in combination with robot positional data, is used to create a 3D model of the bre. These are fused using quaternion coordinate transfer operations with the Robot Operat- ing System, an open source robotics platform. The 3D model is converted into an image for fast processing using open source algorithms from OpenCV. Deviations in part-product quality are identi ed in real-time including geometric, positioning and buckling defects due to high-radius curvatures in the bre path. Currently the prototype system will give a non-conformance warn- ing to the operator, and in future work it is planned to develop ... Read more