42 AEROSPACEMANUFACTURING
INDUSTRY I ROUND-UP
Critical production system
Cool choice
Master Chemical says that its TRIM C270 synthetic coolant
for grinding is a preferred choice of manufacturers of turbine
blades and aero-engine parts in the aerospace industry and is
proven to improve the production process and dramatically
reduce costs.
One major aero-engine manufacturer was reporting
significant productivity downtime on its Magerle central system
due to heavy foaming and problems with filtering its existing
cutting and grinding fluid. The pre-coat vacuum filter had
been regenerating every 30 minutes but with TRIM C270 the
interval increased to seven days with no foaming. As a result
the usage of flocculent decreased substantially and after 10
months of evaluation the customer confirmed a big competitive
advantage in grinding performance and costs savings on its
A new special purpose machine from joint venture HYTRI for filterability.
manufacturing major parts of the A400M military transport Similar problems have been overcome and benefits
aircraft is now in full-scale operation at the Airbus wing experienced at a plant manufacturing aero-turbine blades
manufacturing plant in Filton, Bristol, UK. Supplied as part of a and at a helicopter manufacturer that has also changed to
comprehensive turnkey contract, the sophisticated 5+2-axis CNC TRIM C270, subsequently recommending the product to all its
machine automatically drills and fettles leading and trailing edge grinding subcontractors.
assemblies for the A400M wings. www.masterchemical.com
Working closely with the tooling supplier Hyde Group, AMTRI
designed, developed, and manufactured the sophisticated special
purpose machine, which is designed to minimise set-up times and
Better post-production
position features with high precision on very large workpieces.
Notable features include a unique post-out beam arrangement
support
and, in each and every working zone, special transformation
algorithms that are used to reference automatically, which Military Air Solutions, a business group of BAE Systems, has
combined with the implementation of comprehensive error selected Teamcenter software from global provider of product
compensation, ensures high precision is maintained. lifecycle management (PLM) software and services UGS as
Graham Wood, Head of A400M Manufacturing Engineering for its enterprise knowledge management technology for specific
the A400M Outer Wing at Airbus, says: “The integrated jig and aircraft platforms within its group. Teamcenter replaces the
machine facility represents a critical production system for the existing solution and a number of legacy systems.
A400M Wing Assembly.” Military Air Solutions will use UGS’ Teamcenter to support
www.amtri.co.uk its new business model of providing enhanced post-production
support for customers’ aircraft. Teamcenter will serve as the
foundation for Military Air Solutions’ maintenance, repair and
overhaul (MRO) solution and will manage all of the product
configurations for an individual aircraft – from design to
disposal. It will also serve as a virtual knowledge manager,
seamlessly integrating the data and functions associated with
aircraft engineering and post-delivery service and support.
“BAE Systems is moving toward greater involvement in the life
support of its products by working in partnership with its principal
customer,” said Graham Malley, BAE Systems’ PLM Program
Manager. “With the lifespan of an aircraft typically expanding
to more than 50 years, managing complex data needed to build,
modify, repair and operate the aircraft is a challenging task.”
www.ugs.co.uk
AM_jul07_p42-44_roundup.indd 42 29/6/07 11:53:52
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