Robotic assembly of aero-engine components

The VITAL (EnVIronmenTALly Friendly Aero Engines) project funded by the European Commission under Framework 6 aims to provide significant reductions in aero-engine fuel burn, noise and emissions through the development of innovative design and manufacturing techniques. One method of reducing the amount of fuel burnt, and hence CO2 produced, is to reduce the weight of the engine. A significant proportion of an engine's weight is due to the large castings used to form the main non-rotating structures; the replacement of these with fabricated structures could provide a significant weight reduction. This paper describes the design and implementation of a robotic assembly cell for complex aero-engine components. A series of experiments were performed to prove the feasibility of the automated assembly process. The results presented indicate that automated robotic assembly is feasible and cost effective.