Versatile Assembly Systems for Large Components on the Example of the Aircraft Structure Assembly

At present, large components in airplane structural assembly are assembled with the aid of large fixed or partly adjustable devices dedicated to the relevant version. Some of the disadvantages of these systems are the limited range of possible adjustments of the handling devices and low flexibility. This restricts the assembly of different versions or products because the equipment cannot be adequately adapted to the version-specific requirements and geometry of the product. This paper describes a solution for a versatile assembly system for large structural elements which can be configured according to specific requirements employing a modular mechatronic building block with reconfigurable handling modules (robots). Motivation