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Boeing Tooling Center
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Laser Tracker at McDonnell Douglas Tooling Center |
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With current and future aircraft becoming more complex , the McDonnell Douglas Tooling Center has outfitted itself with the most accurate, cost-effective methods of measuring and building large three-dimensional objects. Utilizing coordinate measuring systems, the Smart310 Laser Tracker Systems build and inspect to ever narrowing tolerances. With systems that can record measurements at a rate of 500 coordinates per second, time- consuming tasks that would have been overwhelming in the past, are now done quickly, accurately and in a cost-effective manner.
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Our laser tracker systems, being quite versatile and portable, have been used for a wide variety of applications. A few of the most common applications are as follows:
- Large Assembly Tool Fabrication
The laser tracker simplifies the setting of details through the instantaneous readout of coordinates and it's advanced build routines. There is a manpower reduction in tool fabrication over the use of theodolite by one-third. The ease of setup gets the job going quickly and affords the luxury of being able to use the system on more than one tool at a time.
- Layout of all Types of Tooling and Parts
Tooling and production parts are laid out by the laser tracker. The data is imported from Unigraphics via a diskette eliminating errors produced by manual data entry. The system enhances productivity by utilizing a build points mode that uses a user specified color code tolerance zone that turns “green” when the surface reflector is in the correct location. A manpower reduction of 3-to-1 over conventional layout using theodolites has been realized.
- Reverse Engineering
The laser trackers ability to collect large data point sets allows scanning of complex mold lines to reverse engineer tools and parts. The data is exported to a surfacing program and this data is used to create surface features of the object scanned. The information is then transferred into Unigraphics using an IGES translator, and a permanent electronic model is stored.
- Machine Verification
The laser tracker is used for real-time measurement in machine verification. The machine can be checked in all axis in a single setup. The information can be stored and then used to compare the actual machine cuts in relation to the master electronic definition. It also is used to check NC programs before they cut the actual materials.
- Mold Line Analysis
The mold line of tooling and finished assemblies are scanned and output for analysis. This is done both in Surfacer and in Unigraphics. The new generation of laser trackers will have real-time analysis. An electronic model of the object can be loaded into the tracker software and a visual representation of the part and the points that are being shot are analyzed and color coded allowing the operator to utilize his/her time more effectively by scanning the area tightly or loosely depending on the mold line deviation. |
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