Cost reduction and increasing production rates are driving automation of aerospace manufacturing. Articulated serial robots may replace bespoke gantry automation or human operations. Improved accuracy is key to enabling operations such as machining, additive manufacturing (AM), composite fabrication, drilling, automated program development, and inspection. New accuracy standards are needed to enable process-relevant comparisons between robotic systems. Accuracy can be improved through calibration of kinematic and joint stiffness parameters, joint output encoders, adaptive control that compensates for thermal expansion, and feedforward control that compensates for hysteresis and external loads. The impact of datuming could also be significantly reduced through modeling and optimization. Highly dynamic end effectors compensate high-frequency disturbances using inertial sensors and reaction masses. Global measurement feedback is a high-accuracy turnkey solution, but it is costly and has limited capability to compensate dynamic errors. Local measurement feedback is a mature, affordable, and highly accurate technology where the robot is required to position or align relative to some local feature. Locally clamped machine tools are an alternative approach that can utilize the flexibility of industrial robots while also enabling high-quality machined surfaces. Hybrid high-accuracy control strategies will be required for many processes. NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the issues they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2019010

The aerospace manufacturing industry is, in many ways, one of the most sophisticated commercial manufacturing systems in existence. It uses cutting-edge materials to build highly complex, safety-critical structures and parts. However, it still relies largely upon human skill and dexterity during assembly. There are increasing efforts to introduce automation, but uptake is still relatively low. Why is this and what needs to be done? Some may point to part size or the need for accuracy. However, as with any complex issue, the problems are multifactorial. There are no right or wrong answers to the automation conundrum and indeed there are many contradictions and unsettled aspects still to be resolved. Unsettled Issues on the Viability and Cost-Effectiveness of Automation in Aerospace Manufacturing builds a comprehensive picture of industry views and attitudes backed by technical analysis to answer some of the most pressing questions facing robotic aerospace manufacturing. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2021005

Currently, inaccuracies in machine tools are often not detected until after they have produced nonconforming parts, causing reworking or scrap. For high-value aerospace parts, a single rejected part is a significant cost. Low-value parts are often inspected less frequently, allowing many nonconforming parts to be produced before the issue is detected, also resulting in high cost. The alternative to relying on part inspection is to run frequent tests on the machine itself, but established calibration and health-check processes take between 20 minutes and several days. Emerging rapid and automated verification (RAV) processes enable machine tools to check their performance automatically in just a few minutes. These RAV processes can be performed frequently throughout the day, allowing machines to operate without human intervention for long periods of time. When an issue is detected, the machine may be able to recalibrate and then continue automatically. Where this is not possible, the machine stops and provides diagnostic information enabling the operator to efficiently get the machine back into production. For many machines, especially smaller ones, artifact probing is the most cost-effective and easily implemented method. Combined with probing of roughing cuts, it can also verify spindle and dynamic errors at the micrometer level. Inertial measurement has a lot of potential to provide continuous monitoring during operations, and significant research efforts are therefore justified to validate and improve diagnostic capability. Noncontact triple-probing of spheres can provide highly accurate RAV while also enabling some compensation to be achieved in a very rapid way. This equipment is costly when dedicated to each machine for RAV but may be justified for very high-value machines and processes. NOTE: SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE™ Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE™ Research Reports are not intended to resolve the issues they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2020019

This SAE EDGE™ Research Report builds a comprehensive picture of the current state-of-the-art of human-robot applications, identifying key issues to unlock the technology’s potential. It brings together views of recognized thought leaders to understand and deconstruct the myths and realities of human- robot collaboration, and how it could eventually have the impact envisaged by many. Current thinking suggests that the emerging technology of human-robot collaboration provides an ideal solution, combining the flexibility and skill of human operators with the precision, repeatability, and reliability of robots. Yet, the topic tends to generate intense reactions ranging from a “brave new future” for aircraft manufacturing and assembly, to workers living in fear of a robot invasion and lost jobs. It is widely acknowledged that the application of robotics and automation in aerospace manufacturing is significantly lower than might be expected. Reasons include product variability, size, design philosophy, and relatively low volumes. Also, the occasional reticence due to a history of past false starts plays a role too. Unsettled Issues on Human-Robot Collaboration and Automation in Aerospace Manufacturing goes deep into the core questions that really matter so the necessary step changes can move the industry forward. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2020024

In its entirety, automation is part of an integrated, multi-disciplinary product development process including the design, process, production, logistics, and systems approach—it depends on all these areas, but it also influences them as well. Automation in aerospace manufacturing is present throughout the entire supply chain, from elementary part manufacturing at suppliers up to final assembly, and a clear understanding of all the benefits (and drawbacks) of automation would help designers and engineers select the right designs for and levels of automation. The Right Level of Automation Within Industry 4.0 examines all impacts of automation that should be known by designers, manufacturers, and companies before investments in automation-related decisions are made—regardless of the which industry they work in. The process and the set of criteria discussed in this report will help decision makers select the right level of automation. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2022013

“Smart” refers to tools that are “specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable/realistic, and time bound.” Smart assembly tools are used in many industries, including automotive, aerospace, and space for measuring, inspecting, gauging, drilling, and installing all existing fastening systems. Inside the Industry 4.0 environment, these tools have a huge influence on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), assembly cost reduction, process control, and even the product and process quality. These four domains—and their undefined nature—are the focus of this SAE EDGE™ Research Report. The technical issues identified here need to be discussed, the goals clarifying the scope of the industry-wide need to be aligned, and the issues requiring standardization need prioritized. NOTE: SAE EDGE Research Reports are intended to identify and illuminate key issues in emerging, but still unsettled, technologies of interest to the mobility industry. The goal of SAE EDGE Research Reports is to stimulate discussion and work in the hope of promoting and speeding resolution of identified issues. SAE EDGE Research Reports are not intended to resolve the challenges they identify or close any topic to further scrutiny. Click here to access the full SAE EDGETM Research Report portfolio. https://doi.org/10.4271/EPR2020018