LEAP Fuel Nozzle Automated Weld Stand

Automating a Difficult Weld to Increase Throughput and Decrease Errors

The Automated Weld Stand was a project that I completed during my first internship at Advanced Atomization Technologies and one of the first engineering projected I completed entirely independently. The project was one I created for myself. In my role as a manufacturing engineer intern I was tasked with observing the product lines and suggesting improvements. One of the things I noticed was that a large percentage of parts failing within the line were doing so at the same test. From this I deduced one of the few remaining hand welds could be the culprit.

I started by investigating the parts failed at this step in the companies metallurgical lab, cutting them apart and investigating them under a high powered microscope. My suspicions were confirmed and about 75% of the failed parts had the same weld issues. The weld material was improperly applied, leading either to a hole in the fuel circuit, or clogging of the fuel circuit, both leading to subsequent failure. On some of the parts the weld was so incorrect it could be seen with the naked eye when the parts were cut open.

After presenting these findings I was tasked with solving them. I decided that the best way to address the issue was to automate it. This weld was one of the few that remained unautomated and likewise was one of the few that had consistent problems. Automating the weld was challenging as it was a very precise weld with tough geometry, however, I was able to devise a way to accomplish this. Through he use of a bent weld head I was able to access the weld point. The weld head was then designed to rotate such that it completely sealed the joint. In addition, the nozzle would be securely affixed to the stand using its primary datums in a way such that there was no wrong way to affix the nozzle.

My final deliverable was presenting my design for the weld stand. It received favorable feedback and passed the design review. Since I left as the design review process was being completed I do not know how much further the project was taken. I believe a prototype was made, but was given no indication on its success nor whether it was put to use. However, based on the overwhelming positive feedback in the design review I consider the project as a success.

This project was done almost entirely independently. I did have some help learning the material needed to conduct the metallurgical investigation and to automate the stand, but did all the actual work of the investigation and automation myself. This help was provided by the head of the metallurgical lab and the the LEAP product lines automation engineer respectively. The design of the stand was also my own, with no outside help aside from consulting the designs of previous automated weld stands. As stated earlier when I left the company the design had just passed the design review. I do not know how much further the project progressed, but due to the favorable feedback at the review I consider it a success