Research and Design of Automatic Laying and Quilting Equipment for Multi-layer Insulation of Spacecraft

Abstract

In view of the low efficiency and unstable quality of the laying and quilting process of the multi-layer insulation of spacecraft, this paper designs an automatic laying and quilting integrated equipment, which adopts fixed base type. Laying and quilting share one platform and Y-direction drive. A buffer structure and a three-layer feeding structure were designed for the high flexibility of the polyester mesh and the complex combination of multi-layer insulation. In order to overcome the problem of fixed frame structure without fixed platform, the support belt system was designed, and the control system was adjusted to perform stepping quilting, in response to the special needs of multi-layer insulation for large stitching. The test results show that the spacecraft multi-layer insulation automatic laying and quilting equipment realizes high-speed and stable operation. The structure is reasonable and the design goal is achieved. Keywords—multi-layer insulation; paving and sewing; framed; step quilting.