One tool to weld and inspect
It holds every tube and bracket in place for welding, then checks the finished part to 0.05 mm.
- 1Part being welded
- 2End-fitting mandrel
- 3Locking pin
- 4Cradle support
- 5Location plate
- 6Base plate
- 7Lifting eye bolt
Aerospace fixture program
400+ welding and inspection fixtures for two military aircraft.
HAL needed fixtures to weld and inspect the pipelines and sheet-metal structures of two aircraft. We designed them, took each one through HAL’s approval, and built the automation that made the volume possible.
- Client
- HAL, through its tooling vendor
- Aircraft
- LCA Mk1A and HTT-40
- 400+fixtures designed and approved
- 5×faster design, with our own library and rules
- 0.02mmflatness on machined plates
A library that does the repetitive work
Four hundred fixtures were too many to draw by hand. iLogic rules place, size and drill library parts along the pipe, then fill in the drawings.
R&D to keep production on track
Hand-cut channel bases warped and their holes drifted. A laser tube cutter, a pinned guide and laser welding kept them precise.
Machined from the model
Plates, locators and mandrels machined straight from the model and set with CMM, so parts drop in and lift out cleanly after welding.
