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aerospace manufacturing


tion, the mantra has been more like “these are more expensive components, they require more hands-on,” Walker said. “But as the technology changes and the de- mand for aircraft goes up, really the only way to meet the rate is to automate how parts are manufactured, based on the demand and the scheduling of the aircraft.” At a recent installation, Mitsui Seiki automated the machining of landing-gear components for a com- mercial aircraft builder with a system employing seven Mitsui Seiki machin- ing centers equipped with 630-size pallet systems, Walker said. Featuring about 100 pallets, the system aimed to supply enough components to help double the builder’s monthly production to 60 planes a month. “Typically in automo- tive, they’ve got these terms like Cpk and Six Sigma, and the aerospace guys are also going in that direction,” Walker said. “They need to develop the process so that the parts can be made with very little human intervention. It’s not making it faster necessarily, it’s making it very consistent and that helps a lot when you’re in an automated system. Number two, it allows you to be able to have very clear, defi nitive deliverables.” A key benefi t to this type of automation, involv- ing systems with long machining times on very hard materials, is obtaining greater spindle uptime, Walker added. With an FMS automation system like those from Fastems, a builder can boost spindle uptime on these machining operations to at least 60%, up to even 80%, Walker said, which is close to approaching world-class spindle uptime levels. At Sikorsky Aircraft, Mitsui Seiki fi ve-axis HMCs perform high-precision machining of 66” (1.7-m) diam- eter titanium main rotor hubs for the Sikorsky CH-53K heavy-lift cargo helicopter under development for the


US Marine Corps. “For the Sikorsky rotor hub, we take a block of metal that weighs nearly seven tons down to about 400 lb [180 kg],” Walker said. The system uses two large-envelope, fi ve-axis HMCs that hold 0.002” (0.051 mm) on diameters and true positions of 0.005” (0.13 mm), with “zero” setup capabilities via dedicated


Automated guided vehicles (AGV) from Fori Automation Inc. transport large aerospace airframes like these Bombardier C-Series cockpit assemblies, replacing time-consuming crane moves.


part load/unload stations that are tied to the FMS pallet transfer station.


Innovating with Automation Many aerospace customers are looking for new ways of thinking for solving throughput issues in building the ma- chined components and composite parts needed for their aircraft programs. “We are seeing new creative ideas for integration of different processes into a complete manu- facturing cell. We are able to help aerospace customers complete entire processes to achieve a completed prod- uct,” said Michael Bell, Fastems director, operations. As an example, Bell offered the case of a major aero- space contractor currently manufacturing 20-m long car- bon-fi ber components that need to be layered by hand, then moved to a machining process before going through an automated measurement process. After machining, the parts have some secondary profi les added to the machined workpiece, then go through a wash cycle and back to automated measurement without being removed


60 — Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing 2015


Photo courtesy Fori Automation Inc.


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