Introduction

The Automation and Production Technology department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials (IFAM) in Stade, Germany, has been an established partner of CFK NORD for many years and does research in the field of automation technology, especially with regard to the integration of industrial robot technology in machining and assembly processes for aircraft production. At Fraunhofer IFAM, integrated system solutions and plant concepts are worked out and can be implemented and optimised on a one-to-one scale in a 4000 square metre test hall with a height of 15 metres below crane hook. This allows for the development of solutions from a single source that can then be transferred to large-scale applications without unnecessary delay and with minimal expenditure, therefore securing a lead in delivering innovative new technologies.

Zero defect production is especially required when machining parts at key points of the production process, and this is only achievable through definite process control. An important tool thereafter is error prevention through the monitoring of qualitydetermining process parameters. Milling, drilling and water-jet cutting are focus areas in the process development field. The researchers at Fraunhofer IFAM, in cooperation with the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), integrate industrial robots or portal machines within processes that simultaneously require both high precision and high mobility of the tool along the work piece. Moreover, they prepare solutions for the simultaneous engagement of several machining units on the same work piece.