Bombardier Aerospace turns to robotics for enhancing the quality and repeatability in the manufacturing line of the CSeries aircraft. They plan to deploy six 12 t robots in the cockpit and the fuselage of the jetliner.
Robots used for assembling the Cseries Aircraft
The company also plans to cut down on the cycle time for aircraft assembly by almost 40 hours. Francois Minville, the vice president at Bombardier, claims that the robots would help in offering low-cost high quality aircraft to their operators.
The fuselage of the aircraft has a diameter of 12 ft ,which offers comfort for travellers but it is a challenge to assemble the part by hand. By using robots, they were able to assemble the fuselage in a matter of just 32 seconds. In case of composite fuselage sections, the assembling takes 53 seconds. All the fuselage sections of the CSeries aircraft can be assembled in 17 hours. The use of advanced vision control systems ensures precise drilling of holes. Customized platforms are in place for operating the robots and the end-effectors in the arms will include the tooling to do the work. Of the six robots, two have already been supplied to the Saint-Laurent Manufacturing Center in Montreal for assembling the carbon-fiber aft fuselage and the cockpit. The rest of the robots would be delivered to the Mirabel Facility, for the final assembly of the CSeries Aircraft. The front section would be riveted, mid, rear and aft sections of the fuselage would also be riveted during the final assembly at Mirabel. The robots are provided with a vertical lift that raises or lowers the arm in line with the fuselage. The barrels of the end effector get back to place once the task is completed. The CSeries is a 100 to 149 seat aircraft with a single aisle. The aircraft is scheduled for release in 2013.