Airbus slows down A330 production

Airbus has decided to slow down the production rate for the A330 from the current rate of ten to nine aircraft a month in the fourth quarter of 2015 as it transitions towards the A330neo.

Since 2013, Airbus has been building ten A330 Family aircraft each month, the industry’s highest ever production rate for this aircraft size category.

Robots to build Boeing 777 fuselages

Boeing announced that it is working on a new method for building 777 fuselages. The process is named 'Fuselage Automated Upright Build' (FAUB) and improves workplace safety and increases product quality. Boeing is developing the new technology since 2012.

Fuselage sections will be built using automated, guided robots that will fasten the panels of the fuselage together, drilling and filling the more than approximately 60,000 fasteners that are today installed by hand.

FAUB offers numerous benefits including an improvement in employee safety. The nature of the drilling and filling work makes it ideal for an automated solution. More than half of all injuries on the 777 program have occurred during the phase of production that is being automated. In addition, the automated system is expected to reduce build times and improve first-time quality of the build process.

"This is the first time such technology will be used by Boeing to manufacture widebody commercial airplanes and the 777 program is leading the way," said Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager, 777 program and Everett site, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We're excited to continue improving the production process here and we're positioning ourselves to begin building 777X airplanes in the future."

The 777 program has already begun testing FAUB at a facility in Anacortes, Wash. Production readiness preparations are underway and the system will be installed in Everett in a new portion of the main factory that is under construction now. The technology is expected to be implemented in the next few years.

The robotic system, designed for Boeing by KUKA Systems, is the latest in a series of strategic Advanced Manufacturing moves on the 777 program, which have already included new systems for painting wings and other drilling operations.

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