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A novel approach, the Invariant Based Theory of Composites and the "Trace" method it proposes, has the potential to reduce aerospace composite development times and costs by over 30% thus reinvigorating the development process and encouraging composite technology growth. The "trace" method takes advantage of inherent stiffness properties of laminates,

A novel approach, the Invariant Based Theory of Composites and the "Trace" method it proposes, has the potential to reduce aerospace composite development times and costs by over 30% thus reinvigorating the development process and encouraging composite technology growth. The "trace" method takes advantage of inherent stiffness properties of laminates, specifically carbon fiber, to make predictions of material properties used to derive design allowables. The advantages of the "trace" theory may not necessarily be specific to the aerospace industry, however many automotive manufacturers are facing environmental, social and political pressure to increase the gas mileage in their vehicles and reduce their carbon footprint. Therefore, the use of lighter materials, such as carbon fiber composites, to replace heavier metals in cars is inevitable yet as of now few auto manufacturers implement composites in their cars. The high material, testing and development costs, much like the aerospace industry, have been prohibitive to widespread use of these materials but progress is being made in overcoming those challenges. The "trace" method, while initially intended for quasi-isotropic, aerospace grade carbon-fiber laminates, still yields reasonable, and correctable, results for types of laminates as well such as with woven fabrics and thermoplastic matrices, much of which are being used in these early stages of automotive composite development. Despite the varying use of materials, the "trace" method could potentially boost automotive composites in a similar way to the aerospace industry by reducing testing time and costs and perhaps even playing a role in establishing emerging simulations of these materials.
ContributorsBrown, William Ross (Author) / Adams, James (Thesis director) / Anwar, Shahriar (Committee member) / Krause, Stephen (Committee member) / Materials Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description

Over the years, American manufacturing has been offshored due to the competitive labor conditions in other countries. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of the international supply chain, highlighting the importance of reshoring manufacturing and industry. However, reshoring alone cannot solve the underlying issues that caused offshoring in

Over the years, American manufacturing has been offshored due to the competitive labor conditions in other countries. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of the international supply chain, highlighting the importance of reshoring manufacturing and industry. However, reshoring alone cannot solve the underlying issues that caused offshoring in the first place, such as shortages of skilled labor and extensive regulation. To address these issues, the implementation and scaling of automation and Industry 4.0 technologies are necessary. The aerospace industry is a prime example of the need for skilled labor. Abiding by rigorous specifications and achieving the tight tolerances required by aerospace specifications is a highly specialized skill that requires experience and training. The shortage of skilled labor puts those working in aerospace at a disadvantage, often leading to long strenuous work hours to meet demand. To address this, a collaboration with two ASU manufacturing student research teams aided the development of two co-bot solutions that can work alongside technicians and operators to reduce downtime, increase efficiency, and free up human operators to focus on more complex tasks. While many automated solutions are available on the market, co-bots are not often used to their full capability. The proposed solutions demonstrate the possibilities of implementing co-bots in the aerospace industry by using them in machine tending and blending processes for aerospace parts. In traditional manufacturing processes, human operators are still responsible for performing repetitive and often mundane tasks, such as loading and removing workpieces from a CNC workstation and starting a CNC machine for repetitive parts. The current blending process requires a technician to manually sand damaged areas for Depot, Repair, and Overhaul (DRO), which is time-consuming and strenuous. By using a co-bot for this process, the technician's workload is significantly reduced, decreasing lead times and increasing quality control. Inspiration for this thesis came from observing the demands of companies like SpaceX, which require mass manufacturing of rocket engines to meet testing and launch schedules. The SpaceX Raptor engine is a complex, precise system that is aimed at being produced in high volume, which is a prime target for co-bot integration to help meet production targets. Implementing more co-bots into manufacturing has been shown to increase efficiency, reduce cost, and relieve stress on human operators. The integration of co-bots into the manufacturing process for the Raptor engine has the potential to improve efficiency and productivity, making high-volume manufacturing a possibility. Overall, the implementation of co-bots in the aerospace industry can offer a competitive advantage by increasing productivity and efficiency while reducing costs and relieving stress on human operators. This thesis provides proof of the possibilities of implementing co-bots in a versatile industry like aerospace and demonstrates the potential benefits of integrating co-bots into the manufacturing process for rocket engines like the Raptor. By doing so, the aerospace industry can move towards a more automated and efficient future, helping to address the challenges faced by American manufacturing today.

ContributorsMorse, Connor (Author) / Gintz, Jerry (Thesis director) / Hillary, Scott (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks (Contributor)
Created2023-05
ContributorsMorse, Connor (Author) / Gintz, Jerry (Thesis director) / Hillary, Scott (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks (Contributor)
Created2023-05
ContributorsMorse, Connor (Author) / Gintz, Jerry (Thesis director) / Hillary, Scott (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks (Contributor)
Created2023-05