Meeting the production ramp-up challenge

Meeting the production ramp-up challenge

An automated horizontal assembly line and design for manufacturing helps Pratt & Whitney deliver PurePower Geared Turbofan engines on time.

Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine will start making its entry into service on the wings of Airbus A320neo and Bombardier CS100 jetliners. The challenges of putting a new commercial aero engine into production can be daunting, especially with 7,000 orders and commitments. To speed the pace of delivery, the company developed overhead-automated horizontal moving assembly lines for the GTF jet engines for its facilities in Middletown, Connecticut; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Mirabel, Québec, Canada, as part of a $1 billion facilities investment. Read more at the digital edition of this story.