Aircraft Skin Handling Device for Magellan Aerospace
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Date
2017-12-06
Authors
Sandhu, Harjasdeep
Stephanson, Mitchell
Furlan, Jesse
Iwhewhe, Matthew
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Abstract
Magellan Aerospace required a material handling device for composite aircraft skins to reduce the amount of damage that occurred during manual handling and operation by the operators. The damage that occurs on the composite skin delays the production of the horizontal tail assembly and creates large overhead cost for the company. The material handling device, as required by the clients and operators, had to transport the composite skin in the near vertical position and allow for rotation to the horizontal position for various work processes. The device also needed to support a change in the skin as the skin becomes trimmed in one of the work processes. In addition, the skin needs to be height adjustable for ergonomic purposes. Further requirements from the client were safety, economical to manufacture, sturdy, rugged and easy to maintain. The objective of this report was to design the most efficient material handling device that will meet all of the clients’ requirements. This objective was achieved by establishing customer needs, developing various design concepts and optimizing the highest scored concept. The device consists of a base frame that sits on four caster wheels. The frame has two vertical members. Attached to the members is a vertical adjustment mechanism and a rotational adjustment mechanism. An upper frame is connected to the rotational mechanism and has welded clamps. The clamps are used to mount the aircraft skin to the device. The base frame is made from aluminum 6061-T6 tubing with an overall dimension of 60x108x50 inches. A truss design minimized the effect of bending in the members. Under maximum loading, the frame has a minimum yield stress factor of safety of 2. The height adjustment mechanism consists of a square tubing sleeve that sits outside of the vertical member of the frame, free to slide up and down. Pin holes are placed through the frame to lock the sleeve at a height range of 34 inches to 39 inches from the ground using a ½ inch pin. An extension spring is connected to the sleeve and the frame to support the skin during vertical adjustments. The rotational...