API Radian 6 Degrees of Freedom Laser Tracker, combined with laser scanning, provides critical fitting data in advance of physical wing assembly at an aircraft manufacturer.
The fit challenge in aircraft wing assembly
An aircraft wing’s principal function is to generate lift. Its streamlined cross-section acts as an airfoil under aerodynamic forces. The wing also carries key components, including jet engines and landing gear.
The aileron, which is raised or lowered to control the aircraft’s in-flight movement, is attached to the wing. These functions make accuracy during wing assembly critical.
A Chinese aircraft manufacturer approached API to determine how its measurement technology could help meet the high accuracy requirements for wing assembly while making the complex assembly task more efficient.
Combining tactile probing and laser scanning
After extensive trials, the manufacturer selected API’s multifunctional iScan measurement tool for use with the API RADIAN 6DoF laser tracker. The combination offered tactile probing and laser scanning in one unit.
For this application, iScan could measure difficult-to-access features using a 100 mm stylus. It could also measure geometry and capture surface topology with its 3D laser scanning function.
The iScan head’s 360° rotation allowed scanning of the complete airframe and wing without relocating the laser tracker.
A four-step wing assembly workflow
The manufacturer used RADIAN and iScan to check wing assembly accuracy and improve assembly efficiency through four steps:
- Establish the aircraft coordinate system. Take measurements with RADIAN to establish a common coordinate system.
- Check the mating surfaces. Scan the airframe and wing joints with iScan. Use the data to calculate physical errors, check tolerance compliance, and confirm that the joint geometries will not interfere.
- Perform the virtual assembly. If the joint geometries are within acceptable parameters, process the scan data in the metrology software to create a new coordinate transformation matrix.
- Guide the physical assembly. Use matched data from selected reference points to guide the wing-to-fuselage assembly operation.
Local support for the project
API supported its Chinese customers directly through its subsidiary facilities in Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu, China.
