Method of aligning hardpoints in aeronautical structures

A method involving placement of an aeronautical structure which already has two hardpoints installed on an auxiliary structure, where said auxiliary structure in turn includes a set of positioning elements which allow varying their position according to at least one degree of freedom, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) installing on the auxiliary structure a laser collimator on an adjustable support which can be adjusted in at least two directions in space for orienting a laser beam from the laser collimator so that the laser beam passes through a number of through holes with which the two already installed hardpoints are equipped;
• b) coupling an opaque coaxiality sensor in a first of the through holes with which the first of the two already installed hardpoints is equipped;
• c) measuring a deviation of a point where the laser beam strikes the coaxiality sensor located in the first of the two already installed hardpoints with respect to a local reference system of said coaxiality sensor;
• d) coupling the coaxiality sensor in a second of the through holes with which the second of the two already installed hardpoints is equipped;
• e) measuring a deviation of the point where the laser beam strikes the coaxiality sensor located in the second of the two already installed hardpoints with respect to a local reference system of said coaxiality sensor;
• f) coupling the coaxiality sensor in one of the through holes with which one of the set of positioning elements is equipped;
• g) measuring a deviation of the point where the laser beam strikes a corresponding positioning element of the set of positioning elements by obtaining its deviation with respect to the local reference system of the coaxiality sensor;
• h) once the deviations with respect to the laser beam obtained in the preceding step are known, applying a correction algorithm to calculate necessary displacements to which the positioning element is to be subjected for proper alignment of the hardpoint associated with the corresponding positioning element;
• i) shifting the positioning element according to a displacement value obtained in the preceding step, resulting in the positioning element being aligned;
• j) taking a new reading of the position of the corresponding positioning element according to step g) above, and in the event of being considered unsuitable according to a previously established quality criterion, performing another calculation of the displacement of the set of positioning elements by repeating steps h) and i);
• k) once it has been found that the alignment between the two already installed hardpoints and the corresponding positioning element is sufficient according to the previously established quality criterion, locking the position of said corresponding positioning element;
• l) removing the coaxiality sensor from the already aligned positioning element and repeating steps f) to k) for the rest of the set of positioning elements;
• and
• m) assembling the rest of the hardpoints to which the preceding steps b) to l) of the method are then performed.