PES pneumatic cylinders reduce assembly times by up to 75 per cent

Citation

(1998), "PES pneumatic cylinders reduce assembly times by up to 75 per cent", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 70 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1998.12770eaf.005

PES pneumatic cylinders reduce assembly times by up to 75 per cent

PES pneumatic cylinders reduce assembly times by up to 75 per cent

Keywords Aircraft, Asco Joucomatic, Assembly, Pneumatics

Until now, the design of large heat laminating machines used in the refurbishment of passenger aircraft had remained virtually unchanged since the first one was designed and built in 1978. However, using Asco Joucomatic's PES range of pneumatic cylinders has enabled the designers of the original machine to effect a complete redesign. This has reportedly achieved impressive cost savings as a result of cutting machine assembly time by 75 per cent and weight of the machine by a half.

We are informed that the new machine, benefiting from reduced size, weight and complexity now takes around four hours to assemble rather than the 16 hours previously required. The reduced weight has been of particular benefit where the machine has been assembled in severely restricted spaces, for example, on the second floor of a hanger in the Ukraine which did not have a working lift.

According to Rob Bridgland, the designer of the original 1978 machine and the latest version: "Finding the PES cylinders was the greatest stimulus to redesign the machine. The new design has put us ahead as clear technology leaders in the market, as our main competitor still employs a chain and pulley system on its machines".

"By using fewer and smaller components, requiring less prefabrication work, we have also been able to produce an innovative machine which costs significantly less than both the predecessor and competitive machines. This was a requirement stipulated by our customer, who commissioned us to produce the new machine."

The main body of the laminating machine comprises a vacuum bed, flexible blanket membrane and an infra-red heat bank (Plate 3). Previously, the membrane which provides the vacuum seal and the large infra-red heat bank used to bond the laminates, were hung from a cantilever arm, which was raised and lowered with chains and balanced by large and cumbersome counterweights, typically weighing 500-600kg. With the redesign, the load bearing cantilever, counterbalance weights, chain wheels and pulleys have all been replaced by just four 125mm bore × 1,200mm stroke pneumatic cylinders, which are used to position the heat bank, and four 50mm bore × 1,200mm stroke cylinders to move the membrane.

With the incorporation of a load bearing cylinder inside each leg, the new design is believed to be intrinsically safe. There are now no external chains and therefore the risk of entanglement is reduced. Added to this, each fully assembled leg now weighs only about 100kgs, compared to the 300-400kg (when fully assembled) of the previous support arm arrangement. The potential risk from accidental crushing during transit and assembly is therefore, said to be significantly reduced. Finally, the movement of the membrane and the heat bank is now strictly linear, thereby avoiding the potentially dangerous situation where a heavy moving object is suspended by chains and liable to swing off course.

Plate 3 The heat laminating machines for passenger aircraft

Since the PES cylinders do not require additional lubrication, the risk of an operator touching any part of the four exposed sets of oiled chains and contaminating the decorative laminating material has been eliminated. In addition, there are far fewer areas that require regular checking and lubrication. This reduction in maintenance demands ensures that more time is made available for the machine to continue in production.

For further details contact Asco Joucomatic Ltd UK. Tel: + 44 (0) 990 226699; Fax: +44 (0) 990 550066.