Research on the Design of Reconfigurable Assembly Fixture Frame for Aircraft Based on Rapid Manufacturing

Abstract

With the increasing demand for efficiency, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness in the aviation manufacturing industry, the prototyping cycles of aircraft development have significantly shortened. Traditional assembly fixtures, due to their high degree of customization and poor reconfigurability, struggle to meet the requirements for rapid prototyping of multiple aircraft models. To address this issue, research has been conducted on reconfigurable framework structures for aircraft assembly fixtures, and finite element analyses have been performed on different types of reconfigurable fixture frameworks. The study indicates that although the stiffness of reconfigurable frameworks is slightly lower than that of traditional welded framework structures, it still meets the requirements for rapid prototyping of development aircraft. By adopting standardized, low-cost reconfigurable assembly fixtures, the design and manufacturing cycle of tooling can be significantly shortened, and the reusability of tooling components can be enhanced, thus facilitating rapid and cost-effective development of prototype aircraft.