55 | Aerospace Automation Picks Up the Pace New developments are making robots more attractive than ever in the aerospace and defense space—especially improved rigidity and accuracy in the robots.
65 | Metrology Technologies Long a critical tool in the aerospace and defense industry, metrology equipment has grown in importance beyond simple things like setting tools and inspection. Metrology technology is playing a sophisticated role in overall operations.
77 | Hot Engines Test Aero Supply Chain There’s nothing like a healthy aviation industry to spur capital investment, expand one of the most successful US export product categories and challenge engine designers to increase fuel efficiency and reduce air-polluting carbon emissions.
89 | Buckypaper: Whatever Happened to the Aerospace Material of Tomorrow?
It’s real, it’s as good as you’ve heard, and it’s coming soon—if not quite yet.
101 | Apex Precision Starts Up in Aerospace Despite lingering uncertainty in the economy, management at the start-up contract manufacturer thinks now is a good time to start a company. How did they do it?
109 | From Aerospace Industry Stepchild to Lean Poster Child
The Supplier Excellence Alliance teams up with A&D supplier Hixson Metal Finishing (Newport Beach, CA) for lean improvements.
DEPARTMENTS 10 UPFRONT
Don’t Ground Innovation with Dreamliner 12 CALENDAR
14 QUALITY SCAN Wire EDM In-Process Gaging 17 SME SPEAKS
“Kicking the Can” is Not an Option 21 NEWSDESK
Engineers Investigate Boeing 787 35 TECH FRONT
Oil Field Threading Demand on the Rise 43 SHOP SOLUTIONS
ON THE WEB
New Resin Provides Tough, High-Gloss Finish New BASF resin gives new Ford Fusion interior component the desired high-gloss appearance while saving production costs. http://tinyurl.com/mfgresin
The Cover: A robot inspects a Boeing 787 composite forward fuselage at Spirit AeroSystems’ manufacturing facility in Wichita, KS. Robots are increasingly being deployed for airframe drilling and fastening tasks as robot rigidity and accuracy improve. Source: Spirit AeroSystems Inc.