Leading Edge

This column starts a monthly series of discussions and investigations of manufacturing technologies focused on the aerospace industry and the challenges that we face in the day-to-day battle to produce aerospace components.

We will focus on, but not limit ourselves to, the technologies required to produce Turbo Machinery components and structural components, from today's super alloys to composites to the somewhat common, but still demanding, aluminum.

In this first column, let's take a look at multi-tasking machines and their diverse application and somewhat unique solutions to the traditional aerospace manufacturing approach.

Multi-tasking machining centers and their applications are on the rise in the aerospace industry due to their flexibility and versatility compared to more traditional machine tools, which typically have been gantry or bridge type machining centers for monolithic components as well as a dual solution of turning and milling for the turbo-machinery industry.

Aerospace manufacturers and suppliers are facing a rapidly-changing and demanding market that is growing in complexity. Super alloys such as inconel and titanium are in critical demand for components, as well as composites and new, never-beforeused materials that are just now being introduced into the market. Viable suppliers are not commonplace and if you can find a supplier that is familiar with inconel, that supplier is usually already at capacity and lead times are very long. The OEMs are designing more complex parts which increases programming and manufacturing times that, in turn, magnify the pressures of global competition. This competition increases with the ever expanding access to manufacturing software and hardware.

Due to this aggressive, competitive market, the multi-tasking machine platform is more useful than ever to the aerospace industry. It can almost be seen as uniquely suited for the industry because, by nature, aerospace components are unique and complex. The multi-tasking machine can reduce fixturing requirements, consolidate machining operations and reduce part handling significantly. Suppliers have realized enormous reductions in processing time by being able to process the part in a single machine and eliminate wasted part handling and processing.

If one considers automation in addition to multi-tasking, there is another dimension that has been typically ignored and underutilized in the aerospace industry. However, thanks to the example of the automotive industry and high volume industries, we have another especially good example of the success with automation and multi-tasking. For instance, the Turbo Machinery sector benefits from automation and its different applications even when considering it has much lower volumes than other "high volume" industries. This same philosophy could just as easily and successfully be applied to aerospace manufacturing.

So, where does this leave the supplier that has not figured out multi-tasking machine and their applications? Good question, and not easily answered in a single column, but one thing is very clear: the supplier that does not embrace the newer machining technologies and increase efficiencies throughout their organization will most surely stall.