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News Release from: Delmia | Subject: Delmia V5 Robotics
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 12 September 2006
Software moves robots into aerospace
Delmia V5 Robotics is playing an important part in a flexible tooling concept intended to overcome many of the disadvantages of working with robots while harnessing all the advantages.
Delmia V5 Robotics is playing an important part in a flexible tooling concept intended to overcome many of the disadvantages of working with robots while harnessing all of the advantages A critical breakthrough, now, industrial robots designed for car manufacture can cross over and deal with the tighter tolerances associated with aerospace manufacture
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 16 Jan 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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"If adopted by the aerospace industry, our prototypes could slash the costs of tooling and set up time", explained Dr Henrik Kihlman, Head of Research, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Linkoping University.
"Dedicated tooling is tailored for a specific purpose, with little scope for re-use on short production runs, so the sums just don't add up anymore".
"Our solution to this is a modular steel framework, the box-joint system, and six legged flexible fixture modules, called Hexapods".
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"Both programmed offline in Delmia V5 Robotics".
"The industrial prototype of the Hexapod will be evaluated by Saab for the remainder of this year in a project to build an unmanned aircraft as part of a European consortium".
Increasing pressure to drive costs down within aerospace manufacturing means that the aerospace industry has looked to the automotive sector to see what elements can be borrowed and profitably applied.
Dr Kihlman has developed the "affordable automation" concept to reduce lead-time and cost in airframe assembly.
This in DS' V5 environment, with Catia and Delmia V5 Robotics acting together as an intuitive user interface, process planning and offline programming tool.
Linkoping University's research, led by Dr Kihlman, has supported various projects at Saab Aerostructures over the last five years.
The result is a demonstrator that not only pushes at the boundaries of Catia and Delmia V5 Robotics, but at the boundaries of robotic science itself.
Dr Kihlman commented: "Seamlessness between Delmia and Catia is key, a powerful flexible tool for operational planning".
"With CAD solids 'parametricised' in Catia and Delmia, values are automatically changed".
Markus Olsson, Delmia Senior applications engineer, Dassault Systemes Nordics commented: "Output from Delmia V5 Robotics is being used to enable real time feedback to a robot's controller".
"For the first time, we know with total accuracy the characteristics a robot assumes when it moves with a load".
"The flexing of the robot is constantly monitored, as the Leica laser trackers measure its whereabouts in six degrees of freedom".
Accuracy tolerance requirements are dynamically programmed within DS' V5 environment, linked to a metrology system.
This works in tandem with the robot's controller, eliminating most of the calibration work required by traditional robot programming.
By linking the V5 interface to the metrology system, it is possible to get closer to a robot's "real" accuracy tolerance of about 0.05mm.
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