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Continued...
As a result of the team's software engineering ability and the
time and effort invested in the manufacturing process of these tool finishing
elements, tool drawings were produced within four weeks of the final surface
shape being known.
Within only eight weeks of the data becoming available, final
tooling had been manufactured and was in place ready for production testing to
commence.
Handling System
With eight different panel shapes making up the top wing skin,
tooling and handling equipment had to be designed to cope with a variety of
sizes, weights and shapes. The vacuum beam unit for example, which picks up and
transfers wing skin panels to and from the checking fixture, is required to
handle all eight different panel shapes both before and after forming. A task
further complicated by the fact that panels are picked up by their inner-side, a
non-uniform surface with machined pockets, where material has been removed in
order to reduce weight.
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