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Continued...
The consultancy then used software written inside their Catia v5
CAD system to trim this point count to a few thousand each, again incorporating
a repetitive check routine to ensure that even though the point count was being
reduced significantly, none of the surface accuracy was lost.
Once completed, an independent check of the CAD representation of
the wing skin surfaces was undertaken in order to compare them with the original
design intent, before Bennetts translated them into actual tooling designs.
As well as meeting all the requirements for accuracy inherent in
this project, two other important factors had to be taken into account in the
tooling designs. First, the tool shapes had to be rapidly adjustable to allow
for product life-cycle changes. Conventional tooling methods used for components
of this size are generally not able to be adjusted or adapted. Second, the tool
surfaces had to be able to carry the high loads exerted by the pressure involved
in the process.
The alternative tooling concept developed by the project team
involved a thin plate formed over relatively tightly spaced laser-profiled rib
boards. The vacuum would then be used to pull the plate to shape on each forming
cycle, with the strength of the aluminium panel combining with that of the
intermediate plate to hold the correct shape throughout the forming process.
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