| Abstract [eng] |
This thesis is a continuation of design automation studies focusing on impact research of currently under developed producibility assessment system at a global aerospace products supplier GKN Aerospace Sweden. A case study was carried at the company on Turbine Rear Structure (TRS) component’s design of a jet engine with the main objective to evaluate weld producibility assessment tools and to demonstrate system’s performance in multi-disciplinary design environment. The context of this thesis is a set-based product design development where several studies, i.e. thermal, structural, aerodynamic etc. are carried concurrently to gather knowledge between their parameter relations. The thesis contributes to the goal of fully integrated producibility assessment in multi-disciplinary studies to support product development process. Completed assessment setup was used on 29 parametrically varied TRS case study models which had been generated using Design of Experiment sampling methods. All models were run through the system to extract their geometry metrics, i.e. edge length, thicknesses, curvature etc. Afterwards, extracted data was processed into producibility indicators defining different weld groups. Final data allowed initial production process plans’ assessment and preliminary prediction of additional design driven manufacturing time. All obtained data was integrated with multi-disciplinary study results and various response surfaces were generated. The problems encountered during the thesis execution involved systematic analysis setup to extract and verify CAD geometry data, assessment of meaningfulness of producibility metrics, development of semi-automated data post-processing module and relating product design to its manufacturing aspects. Commercial and in-house developed software were used extensively to demonstrate the results of the system with the help of continuous company support to mitigate indispensable bottlenecks along the way. Action Research methodology was used to develop solution focused approach by addressing problems identified by project supervisor. Iterative research structure was adapted with repeated study refinement loops. The established method implementation consists of four interdependent action cycles, i.e. development of data post-processing module, investigation of process plans, intermediate data visualization and final demonstration of the system. The results of the system were evaluated by collecting feedback of product development and manufacturing specialists. The work has led to systematic improvements, determined assessment limitations and most relevant weld producibility aspects. The presented system in action showed promising results to support product design decisions considering both performance and producibility. |
