CappsNC Aerospace Applications
CappsNC Aerospace Applications.
Due to it’s ability to easily integrate with large custom machines including Drill & Trim machines, CappsNC is ideally suited for large scale aerospace manufacturing.
When working with composites for aircraft wing parts, the sheer size alone can make the part flexible and thus requires complex fixturing and lengthily setups before the part can be processed.
CappsNC with NC-Fit can greatly reduce the cost and complexity of fixturing and can reduce the time required to fixture a part by using CappsNC to measure the part before cutting and automatically modifying the cutting path to the actual measured part with NC-Fit and reposting the modified program.
Your machine tool can now perform double duty as a large scale machine tool and a CMM without removing the part from the fixture.
What is NC-Fit?
NC-FIT is a re-posting software that adapts 5-axis NC programs to part orientations and shapes
- Works directly with data generated by CappsNC
- CappsNC with NCFIT can simulate NC cutting programs for graphical verification
- Real time interface with laser scanners
- Can work with very large point cloud data
- Imports/Exports to standard file formats
- Extract geometry can be obtained from a point cloud
- Both curves and prismatic features can be extracted from a point cloud
- Actual measured point cloud data is compared to CAD data
- Multi-sensor systems are fully supported
Aerospace Manufacturing - CappsNC & NC-Fit
In-process Posting of G-code
Large composite aircraft parts, such as wing components generally require a trim and drill process. As the part is large and flexible, the part can be deformed even with elaborate fixturing. If this deformation is not compensated for, the part could become expensive scrap when using the cutting program generated from a CAD model rather than the actual part location and shape. CappsNC with NC-Fit can be utilized to perform part profile laser scanning and fitting of the scanned data. The point cloud data gathered from the laser scan can be used to analyze the deviation of the actual measured part to CAD and fit to the actual measured shape and location. The cutting program, including the machine motion path and head angles is modified to cut to the ACTUAL measured part and re-posted to the machine as a new cutting program.
Adapting 5-Axis NC Head Orientation
Depending on the measured part deviation from the nominal program, the probe head may no longer be in the desired orientation, potentially causing errors. During the automatic creation of a corrected program to be reposted, CappsNC can correct the head orientations to match the actual measured part.
Adapting Machine Motion to Part Shape
After the part location and shape has been fit with NC-Fit, the programed nominal motion may no longer be correct for the measured part and must be adjusted During the automatic creation of a corrected program to be reposted, CappsNC NC-Fit can correct the machine motion to the newly measured actual part.