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Robotically Assembled Aerospace Structures: Digital Material Assembly using a Gantry-Type AssemblerThis paper evaluates the development of automated assembly techniques for discrete lattice structures using a multi-axis gantry type CNC machine. These lattices are made of discrete components called "digital materials." We present the development of a specialized end effector that works in conjunction with the CNC machine to assemble these lattices. With this configuration we are able to place voxels at a rate of 1.5 per minute. The scalability of digital material structures due to the incremental modular assembly is one of its key traits and an important metric of interest. We investigate the build times of a 5x5 beam structure on the scale of 1 meter (325 parts), 10 meters (3,250 parts), and 30 meters (9,750 parts). Utilizing the current configuration with a single end effector, performing serial assembly with a globally fixed feed station at the edge of the build volume, the build time increases according to a scaling law of n4, where n is the build scale. Build times can be reduced significantly by integrating feed systems into the gantry itself, resulting in a scaling law of n3. A completely serial assembly process will encounter time limitations as build scale increases. Automated assembly for digital materials can assemble high performance structures from discrete parts, and techniques such as built in feed systems, parallelization, and optimization of the fastening process will yield much higher throughput.
Document ID
20170006474
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Trinh, Greenfield
(SGT, Inc. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Copplestone, Grace
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
O'Connor, Molly
(SGT, Inc. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Hu, Steven
(Millennium Engineering and Integration Co. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Nowak, Sebastian
(SGT, Inc. Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Cheung, Kenneth
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Jenett, Benjamin
(Massachusetts Inst. of Tech. Cambridge, MA, United States)
Cellucci, Daniel
(Cornell Univ. Ithaca, NY, United States)
Date Acquired
July 11, 2017
Publication Date
March 4, 2017
Subject Category
Structural Mechanics
Mechanical Engineering
Aircraft Design, Testing And Performance
Report/Patent Number
ARC-E-DAA-TN39672
Meeting Information
Meeting: IEEE Aerospace Conference 2017
Location: Big Sky, MT
Country: United States
Start Date: March 4, 2017
End Date: March 11, 2017
Sponsors: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX14AM40H
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNA13AC87C
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX13AL39H
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX14AG47A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNA14AA60C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Manufacturing
Robotics
Aeronautics
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