Like just about every other manufacturing operation, welding has made the leap into the 21st century with automation, agile manufacturing processes, and offline programming.
Before the coronavirus pandemic upended normal life and essentially shut down commercial airliners, the aviation industry had a projected need for 40,000 new aircraft—planes, helicopters, air taxis, and unmanned aerial vehicles—in the next 20 years.
A burr could become a danger point in the turbine engine. Classical manufacturing processes like turning, milling and grinding can lead to burr formation and unwanted sharp edges.
Honeywell Aerospace, part of global commercial and consumer engineering conglomerate Honeywell, produces a large number of the impellers and blisks used in commercial aeroplanes.
In spite of advancing digitalization, manual workstations are still indispensable because automation is not always profitable with small batch quantities or complex processes.
Since 1996, the Plant 15 machining operations at Mercury Marine have included a reliance on automated machining cells. Over the years, the Fond du Lac, Wis.-based manufacturer and distributor of marine engines, parts, accessories and integrated systems has phased out some traditional manufacturing methods in favor of modern cells.
The improved API vProbe tactile measuring sensor performs accurate CMM-style measurements directly on the production floor, according to Automated Precision, Inc (API.) Integrated with the API Radian Laser Tracker series the vProbe enhances the measuring capabilities and functionalities of traditional Laser Trackers.
Zeiss Industrial Quality Solutions will install Zeiss AICell trace at a premier electric vehicle manufacturer in North America in 2020. The correlation-free measuring cell is the most accurate, shop floor car body robotic process and quality control system on the market.
Hockley Pattern & Tool, Halesowen, England, is an example of a company dedicated to the art and science of making perfect tooling.
Today’s job shops can distinguish themselves from competitors by adding deep hole drilling/gundrilling to their offerings. But complex, custom-built machines require more floor space and a bigger investment.
