Development of a Low-Cost, High Accuracy, Flexible Panel Indexing Cell with Modular, Elastic Architecture

Abstract

The global aerospace industry is driving a demand for flexible manufacturing systems to accommodate multiple programs with variable capacities within a modular, economical production cell [1]. Traditional manufacturing cells often involve bespoke, monolithic hardware limited to single program use. This inherent restraint results in significant incurred costs and program disruption when reacting to design and capacity changes. This paper describes the development of a reconfigurable panel-indexing cell with a dynamic cost architecture as an alternative approach to established, monolithic tooling structures.