Keywords
Citation
(1999), "City University and British Aerospace win innovative Metrology Award", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 71 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1999.12771bab.024
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
City University and British Aerospace win innovative Metrology Award
City University and British Aerospace win innovative Metrology Award
Keywords Awards, British Aerospace, City University
Technology that allows robots to do very precise operations has won the award for Innovative Metrology as part of the 1998 Metrology for World Class Manufacturing Awards, presented recently by the Rt. Hon. Peter Mandelson MP, former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Dr Tim Clarke and Dr Xinchi Wang of City University and Dr Richard Gooch of British Aerospace's Sowerby Research Centre, gained the Innovative Metrology award for their work on developing a powerful three-dimensional measurement technique which allows the position of a number of mechanical components to be measured as they are being assembled, and so complete difficult assembly tasks accurately. The robot can locate where to drill holes within a tenth of a millimetre.
Because the process is totally automated it offers significant benefits in productivity, quality and cost.
Several digital cameras view the component from different angles, thus allowing the robot to compute its location with pinpoint accuracy. This system is highly suited to close tolerance measurement of large components typical of the aerospace industry. It could also be used to measure the location of surgical instruments during microsurgery.
But this project has particular relevance to the aerospace industry where consistent and precise manufacturing processes are required for high quality, complex components and assemblies. The technique could be particularly beneficial in applications such as the manufacture and assembly of Airbus wings where a demand for higher throughput is rapidly building up as airline orders increase.
City University and British Aerospace are planning commercial development of this work.