Orbital drilling is the best way for holes-drilling with high quality and finish.

Airbus purchased advanced drilling machines based on Novator’s patented orbital drilling technology for a total order value of €400,000. The machines are being used for the assembly of pylons for the Airbus A350 XWB at the assembly plant in St Eloi, France.

Using orbital drilling, Airbus will be able to drill on the Airbus A350 XWB pylons in one single step. The method is said to be more precise, uses dry drilling and avoids leaving chips and other residues in the structure.

“This order is important for us as we are involved in several projects within the aerospace industry validating the orbital drilling technology for production implementations,” said Novator CEO, Hans-Petter Andersson. “Airbus is the first company to conclude the validation process and place an order. This will help other companies in their decision to introduce the next generation of drilling technology in their production lines. The aerospace industry faces real challenges when introducing advanced materials in the aircraft designs, and orbital drilling has a large potential for decreasing manufacturing costs.”

Boeing has also ordered the same drilling machines for the 787 assembly line in Everett.

The Orbital Portable M-Series is based on Novator's patented Orbital Drilling¢â technique that enables drilling of holes with high quality and finish while reducing the machine inventory and the cutting times. Orbital DrillingTM is a drilling technique where the cutter is revolving in a mechanically forced eccentric movement while simultaneously rotating around its own axis. In Orbital DrillingTM, the thrust force is very low which results in higher hole quality and is one of the factors that opens up for dry drilling. Dry drilling makes coolant obsolete and reduces environmental and health hazards.