Improving the quality assessment of drilled holes in aircraft structures

Abstract

This paper presents a case study carried out in an assembly cell where automated drilling of an aeronautical structure is performed. The study shows how techniques approached by the 4.0 industry have the potential to contribute to manufacturing, breaking the limits imposed by the previous state of the art systems. This paper proposes a method capable of calculating an indicator for the final quality of the drilled holes, by using a committee of neural networks, which analyses data obtained by monitoring the electric current consumed by the drilling system drive. The method has the potential to enhance the efficiency of the drilling process, avoiding measurement steps and physical inspections that increases the cell cycle time.The proposal contributes to the literature by presenting an unprecedented application and to the praxis by solving a relevant problem of the aerospace industry.