Key digital enterprise technology methods for large volume metrology and assembly integration

P G Maropoulos, D Zhang, P Chapman, D G Bramall, B C Rogers

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Digital enterprise technology (DET) is a theoretical framework for collaborative design and production development in the context of a product's lifecycle. The DET framework can be used to configure digital product and process development technologies which assimilate design data, at various levels of completeness, with a high degree of real-time measurement feedback from the production environment in order to validate the product's tolerance specification and the selected production and assembly processes. This paper describes research focused on the integration of two major facets of DET; process planning and large volume metrology (LMV). The challenges encountered include the representation of early designs of complex products, the definition of high risk areas in the process plan and the generation of accurate, dynamic measurement data from large-scale laser metrology in the production environment. The methods employed demonstrate how DET-based strategies for design, manufacture and integration can utilize recent technology advances in aggregate modelling and planning, tolerance analysis tools and 3D coordinate metrology. Early testing using aerospace products has been very promising and the research findings will benefit manufacturers of high-value, high-complexity products within distributed production networks.
    Original languageUndefined/Unknown
    Pages (from-to)1539-1559
    Number of pages21
    JournalInternational Journal of Production Research
    Volume45
    Issue number7
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 20 Feb 2007

    Bibliographical note

    ID number: ISI:000244897100005

    Keywords

    • process planning
    • metrology
    • optimization

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