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Continued...
In order to enable the CATIA software to handle this quantity of
data, Bennetts used the product's Application Programming Interface facility to
run customised programmes developed in-house to convert the data into workable
files.
Visual Basic software was used to read all the points, sort them
and do some smoothing and interpolation, and a second analysis output file was
then produced to compare the created surface with the original data. Having
checked that the profile and the surface were consistent, the surface was
trimmed back to its finished shape, using the outline point cloud provided again
by Airbus.
Using CATIA in this way, Bennetts were able to generate wing
profiles and tool designs very quickly. Once final designs were complete,
comprising file sizes of some 2.5Gb in memory, the programme was used to output
manufacturing information to the laser profiler producing the ribs, around 280
for each tool and each one unique -- that would determine the finished wing skin
shape.
Eight weeks after the final designs had been received from Airbus,
tooling was in place at Broughton, ready for production testing to start. For more information, contact us on
01709-373782
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