The MAM72-52V high speed, large capacity 5-axis vertical machining center (VMC) handles larger workpieces than existing models and offers faster cycle times for higher productivity and performance.
Its maximum workpiece size is 520mm x 400mm with a load capacity of 300kg per pallet: a 23% increase in diameter, 50% increase in weight, and 75% increase in envelope volume compared to existing models.
The 4th-/5th-axis table, equipped with direct drive motors, achieves 50rpm/100rpm rapid traverse rates, enabling high speed and high accuracy.
The distance from machine front to the pallet center has been reduced to 564mm and distance from front to spindle center to 134mm, improving machine accessibility and setup.
The all-in-one MAM72-52V enables variable-part/variable- volume production and extended unattended operation, featuring a matrix tool magazine (130 tools/330 tool magazine base), tower pallet system (PC15), and chip removal system (spiral chip conveyor, lift-up chip conveyor) as standard.
The VMC is Internet of Things (IoT) ready, delivering measurable remote and real-time monitoring of machine status, condition, and performance. This optional feature for outputting machine running data to a host system is available using the MTConnect communication protocol designed for machine tools.
Combining the quick swing-and-clamp movement of 8200 series pneumatic swing clamps with the two-position-lockable capabilities of 6004 series straight-line action clamps, manual swing clamps allow push or pull operation. They feature an enclosed cam track and can clamp and lock in retract and extend positions. They also feature a detent that holds the clamp in the open position to prevent unwanted movement. Future versions will offer Destaco’s Toggle Lock Plus, which locks the handle in open and closed positions.
The Garant Master Steel deep hole drill increases material removal rates up to 30%, improves process reliability up to 70%, and lasts 3x longer. Optimized for machining steel, the deep drill doesn’t require a co-pilot hole, even in stainless steel and cast iron, machining high-quality components with maximum process reliability.
Straight main cutting edges reduce cutting force, and improved point geometry ensures optimum chip breaking.
Through-cooling is only helical in the head to enable an unequal helical pitch of the chip flutes on the remaining drill body with an adaptive helix angle from 15° to 30°. This accelerates chip removal out of the hole to improve process reliability at higher cutting speeds.
Drill guidance – a guide land and guide rings – reduces vibration and delivers top quality holes. Guide rings enable coolant to flow around the drill tip in a targeted manner, preventing machine zone overheating. Chip flow is optimized by a head coating and polished chip flutes.
Three- and four-sided pyramid risers permit multi-part loading, providing greater access for 5-axis machining applications. With a 30° mounting surface, the risers ensure maximum clearance for spindle and cutting toolpaths, resulting in more machining per setup.
Three mounting options – direct-to- table using T-slots, center pin, and timing key – are all secured using T- nuts and socket head cap screws (SHCS). QLS accurately locates and clamps the pyramid to a base element with QLS shoulder screws and SHCS. Quick-Loc pallet systems use pull studs (spaced at 96mm) to locate and clamp in a single step.
Compatible with virtually all 5-axis CNC machining centers, the lightweight aluminum risers ensure fast changeover and setup. Available in 3-position and 4-position configurations, pyramid risers can be used with self-centering vises, dovetail vises, and ER collet fixtures.
Dream Drills Pro tools, made with micrograin carbide, offer core strength and long tool life. A wave-shaped cutting edge reduces cutting forces, while an advanced, wide-flute design is optimized for faster, reliable chip evacuation. A self-centering 140° point angle reduces torque and extends tool life.
A special Z-coating (silicon-based, nano-layered) technology gives cutting edges high hardness and greater heat resistance for higher machining efficiency, superior surface finishes, and more parts per tool.
Dream Drills Pro tools have drilling depths of 3xD to 5xD, and diameter sizes from 1mm to 20mm.
Using proprietary and state-of-the-art explosion bonding technology, bimetallic flanges are fully compatible with the industry standard Conflat flange interface. Incorporating the CERN 20° back-bevel (90° including angle) knife-edge design increases overall service life. The flanges operate in high, ultra-high, and extremely high vacuum applications where levels to 1x10^13 Torr and 250°C bake-out temperatures are required.
The Atlas CF Flange easily welds to aluminum vacuum vessels, making them a key component to successful integration of aluminum ultra-high vacuum technology.
The GrindSmart 630XW improves solid carbide boring bar grinding and other stationary cutting tool production. Six-axis boring bar grinding is more flexible than conventional single- purpose grinders. With six fully interpolating CNC axes and a 6-staton wheel/nozzle changer, the machine can be adapted for individual boring bar designs for short and long runs. The compact, versatile design allows full interchangeability between boring bars, inserts, and round tools.
When working with heat-resistant superalloys (HRSAs), Secomax CW100 ceramic insert grades offer solutions for unpredictable tool life and slow rough-machining speeds. Featuring new geometries for whisker-reinforced ceramics, the solution line supports challenging aerospace applications involving Inconel 718, Hastelloy, Waspaloy, MAR, Nimonic, Rene, Udimet, and other HRSAs.
For fast and accurate inspection, the Hexagon RS6 laser scanner measures up to 1.2 million points/sec with a scan rate of 300Hz. It has a 150mm laser stripe at mid-range and a visual guide providing real-time feedback for stand-off distance.
Built using Systematic High-Intelligence Noise Elimination (SHINE) technology, the RS6 offers full scanning performance without reductions in quality or productivity on challenging surfaces such as molded carbon-fiber.
SHINE allows users to scan 99% of parts without changing scanner exposure, delivering 3x faster frame rates, a 30% wider laser stripe, and consistent scanning performance on difficult surfaces.
With a mounted scanner arm, measurement requires less preparation, less set up, and fewer settings, and it scans with full frame, full line width.
Repeatable mounting (using the Absolute Arm 7-axis) allows the scanner to be removed and replaced without calibration. The scanner is certified ISO 10360 8 on all 7-axis RA8 Absolute Arms.
The RV-8CRL vertically articulated robot arm offers a high-quality solution at a lower price for various applications. Its smaller base size expands the effective working area, and compatibility with safety intelligence components makes the RV-8CRL versatile enough for pick-and-place, inspection, and general assembly.
Designed for easy implementation, robust safety options, and reduced downtime and maintenance, the robot arm’s internal wiring and piping makes it easier to install, while its IP65 rating makes it dust tight and protected against water spray, widening application suitability.
RV-8CRL also features auxiliary components for safety, such as MELFA Safe Plus. This component uses additional sensors to reduce speed and limit the range of robots up to a full stop when it detects people or objects nearby. In addition, its internal encoders don’t require battery backup, allowing it to maintain the same settings without the battery.
Airbus Canada has transferred global material support and services for A220 operators to Airbus services company Satair.
“All A220 customers will now benefit from the same level of service and global network offered by Satair on all other Airbus platforms,” says Rob Dewar, senior vice president, A220 Customer Services, Customer Satisfaction, and Product Policy.
“Satair’s footprint of service centers and warehouses will contribute to a greater scope of spare parts available for all A220 operators,” Satair CEO Bart Reijnen says.
Satair will oversee planning and inventory; purchasing; quality inspection; certification; warehousing and distribution; customer order handling; 24/7 aircraft-on-ground handling; initial provisioning; and tool lease, later developing A220 parts lease, repair, and exchange.
A220 program headquarters, engineering, and customer service are in Mirabel, Canada.
More than 100 A220s are in the fleets of seven operators flying routes in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
Vertex Aerospace wins CH-53E maintenance contract
The Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Madison, Mississippi-based Vertex Aerospace LLC more than $111.4 million for Contracted Maintenance, Modification, Aircrew, and Related Services (CMMARS) for the U.S. Marine Corps’ CH-53E Super Stallion fleet. The 5-year task order, with one base year and four option years, includes inspecting, rebuilding, and restoring the aircraft to full mission capable status.
Since 2016, Vertex has delivered 23 CH-53E aircraft under the program, accounting for 16% of the current Super Stallion fleet. Vertex will support the effort at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) New River, Jacksonville, North Carolina; MCAS Miramar, San Diego, California; and MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Kaneohe, Hawaii.
Aviation Clean Air gains distributor
Environmental purification company Aviation Clean Air LLC (ACA) is partnering with Airbus services company Satair to distribute ACA’s Air Ionization and Purification System for all aircraft types.
ACA’s system improves interior air quality and neutralizes pathogens throughout the aircraft. Certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for aircraft installation, ACA deactivates airborne pathogens, viruses, and bacteria while reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors.
“This product has been used in VIP and military operation for years, and now will be made available to all airline customers via Satair,” says Matt Jessee, head of business development, global distribution, Satair.
The system uses Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI) technology to create a high concentration of positive and negative ions. The ions travel through the air, continuously seeking out and attaching to particles. As these particles become larger, they are quickly eliminated from the air. Positive and negative ions also have microbicidal effects on pathogens, reducing their infectivity.
“Our NPBI concept neutralizes many pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2 without representing any health risks, as this technology does not create ozone,” says Howard Hackney, Aviation Clean Air managing director.
ACA – a partnership between Southern Aviation Parts & Services, TRIAX Partners, and American Ion Inc. – is based in Savannah, Georgia.
Bell adds Denmark maintenance center
Bell Textron Inc. will be adding its first Authorized Maintenance Center (AMC) in Denmark and the second AMC in Europe. Air Service Int’l. A/S in Billund, Denmark, will provide maintenance for the Bell 206A/B, 206L, and 505 helicopters.
“Air Service Int’l. will provide local field maintenance to customers and Bell will continue to support customers with heavier maintenance needs or additional requests from Bell’s Prague Service Center,” says Duncan Van De Velde, Bell’s managing director, Europe & Russia.
Established in 1979 by Poul Jensen, Air Service Int’l is an EASA Part 145 approved helicopter repair, service, and maintenance center.
Navy picks Avatar Partners’ AR-based QA
Huntington Beach, California-based virtual, augmented, and mixed reality software provider Avatar Partners won a contract to provide its simplified, intelligent augmented reality quality assurance (SIA-QA) solution to the U.S. Navy.
The SIA-QA solution will support aircraft wiring maintenance for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Boeing V-22 Osprey aircraft. This augmented reality (AR)-based, automatic QA system combines instruction and artificial intelligence-based performance assessment to help inspectors rapidly observe conditions to speed installation and increase accuracy. The SIA-QA solution includes refresher training for aircraft maintenance technicians who have completed tours of duty away from the system for which they were trained.
Virtual reality (VR), an immersive computer-simulated 3D reality replicating a physical environment where users can interact by wearing special glasses, allows one to walk through an aircraft cabin before it exists, via a digital mockup.
Augmented reality (AR) – also known as mixed, hybrid, or extended reality – overlays a view of the real world with computer-generated video, graphics, or data. While a trivial use superimposes a cartoon animal nose and ears over your face on a cell phone, in manufacturing, AR can improve aircraft panel assembly, superimposing fastener location and installation sequence over the real-world object. In maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), AR allows a technician’s head-mounted display to relay images of a part to remote experts, who can diagnose the problem and immediately indicate a repair.
That ability to enhance workers’ understanding of their tasks and environments makes AR/VR technology an exciting entry into factories of the future.
GridRaster Inc., a cloud-based provider of extended reality platforms, conducted a survey in July to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on aerospace companies adopting AR/VR technologies. A summary of the findings is presented in Gaining Altitude, but the short answer is yes, the pandemic has changed the polled companies’ schedule for implementing AR/VR. Two-thirds of respondents have either started planning or are fast-tracking existing plans to implement AR/VR this year.
In further survey results, companies that already implemented AR/VR technologies indicated they are using them for multiple reasons, including production assembly and MRO (83%), virtual customer service visits (75%), employee training (53%), and design and engineering (30%).
Companies planning to implement AR/VR noted the same reasons and rank them similarly to those now using the technology, with the exception that 75% plan to leverage it for virtual design and engineering.
GridRaster co-founder Dijam Panigrahi shares with our readers the initial steps for aerospace companies seeking to adopt AR/VR technology.
First, identify a use-case to demonstrate its value within a specified time. Partner with an expert if in-house AR/VR capabilities are lacking. Assess the infrastructure required for a pilot project and how it would scale. Then execute, learn, and execute again to prove return on investment (ROI).
Of those companies that haven’t implemented AR/VR technology, the most- cited reason wasn’t cost or questioning its benefit, but how to manage and scale it (85%). Panigrahi offers advice for companies already using AR/VR.
“Those who have proved ROI for use cases through pilot programs and are now seeking to scale with high-fidelity virtual-model overlays onto the physical world should consider cloud-based architecture to achieve the desired performance for complex virtual worlds, more users, and additional locations.”
Using the cloud brings down a system’s total cost of ownership by pooling computing resources across a large user base, reducing operating cost. It also eases integration with other manufacturing engineering systems (MES) and Internet of Things (IoT) data, providing all users access to the latest information.
Training workforces faster and reducing production costs must become a reality, and not a virtual one, for aerospace companies to thrive. – Eric
