Systems and methods for positioning aircraft engine components

A positioning system for positioning an engine component for attachment to an engine of an aircraft, comprising:

• a pair of spaced-apart upright supports configured to be mounted to a base on opposite sides of a component bay region of the base;
• a lift frame including a frame crossbeam and a pair of cambered trusses having respective apexes, the trusses being secured at their apexes at spaced-apart positions to the frame crossbeam, and having distal ends configured to be secured at spaced-apart positions to the engine component;
• a crossbeam support on which the frame crossbeam is supported for rotation relative to the pair of upright supports;
• the frame crossbeam enclosed within the crossbeam support, the frame crossbeam extending along a rectilinear beam axis central to the frame crossbeam and between the pair of upright supports, wherein the crossbeam support is supported and configured for relative movement along respective open passageways in the pair of upright supports;
• a first cross beam support assembly supporting the frame crossbeam, and configured to be moved along a first upright support of the pair of upright supports in response to a first control signal;
• a second cross beam support assembly supporting the frame crossbeam, and configured to be moved independently from the first cross beam support assembly, along a second upright support of the pair of upright supports in response to a second control signal;
• a laser assembly configured to support a first laser and a second laser at a known distance apart along a reference line, the laser assembly being positioned relative to the engine component with the reference line oriented vertically, the first and second lasers being individually adjustable in a respective plane including the reference line to align a respective laser beam of each of the first and second lasers with a target position on the aircraft associated with the aircraft engine, with the laser assembly providing a first indication representative of a first angle of the laser beam of the first laser relative to the reference line and a second indication representative of a second angle of the laser beam of the second laser relative to the reference line;
• and
• a system controller configured to (a) determine a vertical distance between the engine component and the target position on the aircraft based at least in part on the first and second angles and the known distance, and (b) control movement of the crossbeam support along the upright supports in a direction that reduces the vertical distance between the engine component and the engine.

A method of positioning an engine component for attachment to an engine of an aircraft, the method comprising:

• attaching the engine component to a lift frame including a frame crossbeam enclosed within a crossbeam support, the frame crossbeam extending between a pair of upright supports along a rectilinear beam axis central to the frame crossbeam, and the lift frame including a pair of cambered trusses having respective apexes, the trusses being secured at their apexes at spaced-apart positions to the frame crossbeam, and having distal ends secured at spaced-apart positions to the engine component;
• moving the engine component by moving the crossbeam support;
• the crossbeam support configured for relative movement along respective open passageways in the pair of upright supports extending upwardly from opposite sides of a component bay region of a base;
• rotating the frame crossbeam and the attached engine component relative to the crossbeam support and around the beam axis of the frame crossbeam to orient the engine component relative to the engine;
• rotating the lift frame and the attached engine component about a pivot axis orthogonal to, and intersecting the beam axis to change the orientation of the engine component relative to the engine of the aircraft;
• mounting a work platform on a top portion of the upright supports;
• attaching a plurality of laser assemblies to different portions of the work platform, each of the laser assemblies including first and second lasers vertically spaced a known distance apart along a reference line;
• directing a first laser beam emitted by the first laser and a second laser beam emitted by the second laser at a target position on the aircraft associated with the aircraft engine;
• determining a first angle of the first laser beam relative to the reference line containing the first and second lasers, and a second angle of the second laser beam relative to the reference line;
• determining, by an electronic system controller having a processor, a vertical distance between the first laser and the target position on the aircraft based at least in part on the first and second angles and the known distance;
• and
• controlling (a) movement of the crossbeam support along the upright supports in a direction that reduces the vertical distance between the engine component and the engine, (b) rotation of the frame crossbeam and the attached engine component around the beam axis, and (c) rotation of the lift frame and the attached engine component around the pivot axis orthogonal to the beam axis relative to the engine of the aircraft.