| Title: |
Aircraft insert orientation and feeding system |
| Category: |
Industry |
| Intellectual Property: |
Student team assigns intellectual property control to company |
| Year: |
2009 |
| Semester: |
Fall |
| Sponsor Name: |
B/E Aerospace, Inc. |
| Sponsoring advisors: |
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| Sponsor URL: |
http://www.beaerospace.com |
| Sponsor Information: |
B/E Aerospace, Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of interior cabin products for commercial passenger aircraft and business jets. The company also provides a wide range of cabin interior design, reconfiguration and certification services, including the conversion of passenger aircraft to freighter use.
B/E has leading worldwide market shares in its major product lines. Our customers include virtually all existing airlines and aircraft manufacturers. |
| ITAR Restriction: |
No |
| Scope of work: |
Large numbers of threaded and thru-hole fastener inserts need to be installed and bonded into aircraft composite panels used to make aircraft interiors. Currently, the inserts are placed by hand after the required holes are drilled into the panels by 3-axis CNC routers. After the inserts are installed, each panel is transferred to another work station where adhesive is manually injected into the inserts to bond them to the panel. We are looking to automate the panel installation process.
The scope of this project is to develop equipment to automatically sort, orient and feed the inserts to a dead nest. The inserts will then be transferred and installed into the panels by a pick and place system. The concept for the pick and place system has been determined, so this project will focus on sorting, orienting and feeding the inserts for transfer.
The feeding system will eventually need to handle up to 70 different insert configurations. These can be divided up into approximately 10 different families of inserts with similar size and feature characteristics. A seperate feeder system will be required to handle each family of inserts. The scope of this project will focus on developing the concept and methods required to feed only one family of inserts.
The greatest challenge will be in determining how to insure that the inserts are oriented correctly for pick up. There are two holes in one end of each insert. Adhesive will be injected into these holes by automated equipment after the inserts are positioned in the panels. It will be critical for each insert to be presented to the pick and place system with the holes consistently and correctly oriented. |
| Project summary: |
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| Disciplines: |
Electrical Engineering (2)
Industrial Engineering (1)
Optical Sciences and Engineering (1)
Mechanical Engineering (1) |
| Skills: |
Mechanical and pneumatic system design
Integration of electrical and optical sensing
Control system design and integration
Machine programming
Good communication skills |
| Additional resources: |
Sample components, design consultation and engineering assistance, assistance with material acquisition, prototype parts can be made in our machine shop, computer access, conference rooms, access to prints and documentation |
| Key Contact Name: |
David Dorey |
| Key Contact Email: |
dave_dorey@beaerospace.com |
| Key Contact Phone: |
520-239-4885 |
| Project URL: |
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| Mentor Name: |
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| Mentor Email: |
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| Mentor Phone: |
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