Small brackets manufactured in one day for A350 XWB

Airbus is expanding use of 3-D printing (additive layer manufacturing) technology to manufacture parts for the company's line of aircraft. This cost-effective technology -additive layer manufacturing- “grows” products from a fine base material powder – such as aluminum, titanium, stainless steel and plastics – by adding thin layers of material in incremental stages, which enables complex components to be produced directly from computer-aided design information.

Parts produced with this method are beginning to appear on the A350 XWB and also on other in-service aircraft of the A300/A310 Family. The 3-D printing results in lighter parts, shorter lead times, fewer materials used during production and a significant reduction in the manufacturing process’ environmental footprint.

“We are on the cusp of a step-change in weight reduction and efficiency – producing aircraft parts which weight 30 to 55% less, while reducing raw material used by 90%,” says Peter Sander of Airbus. “This game-changing technology also decreases total energy used in production by up to 90% compared to traditional methods.”

For the A350 XWB aircraft, Airbus has already produced a variety of plastic and metal brackets, which material and structural properties have been tested and validated, and are now incorporated on the certification test prototypes.

Sander said the lead time for such a part can be as little as one day, if the component is based on an existing design, while redesigned parts can be produced in less than two weeks.

Airbus and China’s North Western Polytechnical University (NPU) have signed a cooperation agreement on exploring ways to further apply 3D printing technology. NPU will manufacture test specimens of titanium alloy parts for Airbus using its Laser Solid Forming technology. The specimens will be manufactured according to Airbus specifications and will be measured and assessed by Airbus.

Based on the article “Airbus expands use of additive manufacturing” published in CompositesWorld.

A350 modifications being introduced in Batches.

To adhere to delivery schedules, the A350 is being introduced in 3 different Batches.

Batch1 includes the first 4 test aircraft. From MSN1 to MSN4.

Batch2 covers spans from MSN5 to MSN20.

Batch2 represents the production specification A350 with modifications mainly related to weight-saving.

“We are on target for the weight with the Batch2 aircraft. I am very confident we will deliver the payload and the range we planned”, said Fernando Alonso, Airbus senior VP Flight and Integrations Tests.

The most significant changes occur on MSN21, in the transition from Batch2 to Batch3 in which many modifications are cabin-related, but wing components and structural parts of the fuselage are also affected.

Based on the article “Airbus Boosts A320 Output, Takes Large A350 Charge” published in AviationWeek.

MSN4 prototype in Seville-Spain for external noise testing

Yesterday the MSN4 prototype landed in Seville airport of San Pablo in order to perform during coming days some external noise tests. This is the first time the A350 XWB lands in a Spanish airport.

The noise testing is being done in the air base of Moron de la Frontera, where the same type of tests have been already completed for the A380 and the A400M flying prototypes. 

This military airport has not in place the noise limitations that are in place in civil airports.

Based on the article “San Pablo acoge el primer aterrizaje en España del nuevo avión A350 de Airbus” published in El Correo de Andalucía

A350 flight test program; 44.6% of the hours accumulated in 42% of the time.

Comparing the 3 ongoing flight test programs (787-9, CSeries and A350), AirInsight summarizes the progress that each one is showing.

The A350 program continues to rack up hours.  So does the 787-9; with the proviso that the hours shown are likely lower than actual. Bombardier got off to a slow start and compared to the other two programs.

AirInsight continues to believe that there is an excellent chance the A350 set for delivery to Qatar could be handed over early. “The flight test program looks to be in good shape –44.6% of the hours accumulated in 42% of the time”.

“The Boeing story is less clear given the opaque information.  However various sources express the view that Boeing is doing very well and is set to deliver to Air New Zealand on time.“

“Bombardier’s program shows how much the slow start has impacted. However to their credit they got their 3rd aircraft flying (FTV3).  Since all flight test programs are back-loaded, they could catch a lot of the time. 

Based on the article “Flight Test Program Update” published in AirInsight.

MSN2 cabin equipped A350 prototype in Hamburg for next 2 weeks.

The A350 prototype MSN2 has landed for the first time in Hamburg at 14:30h. For next 2 weeks, an extensive testing program of the cabin will be performed in Finkenwerder.

MSN2 is already equipped with an interior seats, kitchens and washrooms, which is however not customer-specific.

"During the test flights, we  will examine the numerous systems in the cabin as air conditioning, power supply of kitchens and seats or the consumer electronics", said Frank Daniels, responsible for cabin testing within the Airbus flight test team.

"Hamburg is our competence centre for cabin systems and design" said Dr. Jörg Schuler, head of Airbus cabin development.

Based on the article "Erste A350 landet in Hamburg" published in Flug Revue.  

ISAMI tool for detailed structural sizing in A350.

For the A350-900 structural development and certification, LMS Caesam -a Siemens business- provided the foundation for deploying Airbus harmonized methods to more than 2,000 stress engineers at more than 50 worldwide suppliers. LMS Caesam provides a single framework that integrates all Airbus processes, methods, tools and data libraries, replacing over 400 tools, officials said.

The A350-900 is the first Airbus aircraft developed using the company’s Improved Structural Analysis through Multidisciplinary Integration (ISAMI). The ISAMI environment ensures consistency in the A350 structural analysis and certification process.

ISAMI has helped Airbus tackle its 3 main challenges on structural analysis: harmonization, automation, and deployment. It manages and automates engineering processes for safety-margin calculation, giving a time-cost benefit over the full design cycle.

The framework allows the integration of harmonized sizing processes and tools, capitalizing on company know-how.

As a result of the LMS Caesam platform’s success with ISAMI, its use has been extended to perform detailed structural sizing and certification for the A350-1000 and the A320neo.

Based on the article “Siemens LMS software used for structural analysis of Airbus A350 XWB aircraft” published in Avionics Intelligence

Japanese humanoid robots will soon help in the assembly lines

The Airbus Puerto Real plant in Cádiz (Spain) where the A350 HTP boxes are assembled, is leading a project to expand the automation of its assembly processes with the use of 2 armed humanoid robots to perform repetitive tasks.

Click the picture to watch a video

The A350 manufacturing flow has several processes that have been “automated” but mainly related to drilling, lay-up, trimming, fiber pleacement, inspections, riveting and testing.

But this is the first time Japanese humanoid robots take part in the assembly process of an aircraft. The first robotic unit acquired by Airbus arrived in Puerto Real from its manufacturers, Kawada in Japan in January, and will be integrated at the A380 rudder spar assembly station, where riveting will be shared between human assemblers and the robot.

Click the picture to watch a video

Depending on the results of this research and technology project -called FUTURASSY- this experience could be used across other Airbus sites.

The aim of this project is to introduce a harmonized robotic solution designed to automate the aeronautical assembly processes freeing up highly skilled workers to work on higher value tasks.

The project lead by Airbus and supported by local partners as Tecnalia has two areas of research:

• The first area called ‘Airbus Standard Robotic Cells’, looks into the development of solutions to automate the aeronautical assembly processes by generating standard solutions. As well as looking for cost effectiveness, any solution will have to be flexible, multifunctional and autonomous.

• The second area of research is called the ‘Collaborative Robots’ project, which explores the use of two-arm “humanoid” robots, specifically designed to work in the same environment as human operators, sharing tools and production resources.

Based on the press release “Airbus invests in robotics as part of its commitment to innovation”