Fixture for jet engine bypass duct : final design report

Abstract

Team Supernova has been commissioned by Bristol Aerospace Limited to design a fixture for a jet engine bypass duct as part of the University of Manitoba Engineering Design class. Bristol Aerospace manufactures a bypass duct for the Airbus A380 turbofan engine. In the current manufacturing process of the duct workers are at risk of strain injuries from manual manipulation of the part. This report proposes a fixture for the jet engine duct that will eliminate worker strain. After conducting research and analysis, six conceptual fixture designs were generated. Further screening led to the conclusion that the suspended arm fixture would be the most feasible for this application. During the design phase of the suspended arm fixture another fixture that functions similar to the suspended arm was discovered. This fixture, available from the Anver Corporation, is the fixture that the team chose to pursue. The fixture will be supplied by Acculift‐Airmax, the Winnipeg distributor for Anver. The fixture is a custom, electric powered, vacuum lifter with side grippers capable of 360 degree manual rotation. The fixture will make use of a currently existing electric hoist in the manufacturing plant at Bristol Aerospace. The electric hoist will provide lifting, lowering, and translational motion of the duct, and the fixture would provide the rotational motion. The Anver fixture has a quoted cost of $15,995. A stand for the fixture, designed by the team, has a quoted cost of $448, bringing the total cost of the fixture system to $16,443. The Anver fixture meets all of the customer’s needs and target specifications. Supernova recommends that Bristol Aerospace purchase the Anver fixture and implement its use in the manufacturing process of the jet engine duct in order to eliminate worker strain.