If you want to learn the latest developments attend the upcoming Today's Cutting Tool Advancements webinar on March 16 @12PM ET.
When you register for the March 16, 2022, 12PM ET webinar you will learn what's new in cutting tools – from advanced coating technologies to implementing best tool management practices. Our panel of experts from CGTech, Greenleaf, Hoffman Group, ISCAR, and Sandvik Coromant will dive into these topics as they apply to a range of industries. Learn about:
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Awards six-year, $100 million contract to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to further transition legacy systems to digital realm.
The B-1 System Program Office (SPO), Tinker AFB, Oklahoma, awarded a six-year, $100 million follow-on contract to Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to continue the B-1’s Digital Engineering (DE) transformation. The National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) helped form the strategic partnership and created a flexible contract structure, which allows NIAR and the B-1 SPO to adapt requirements quickly to meet critical needs.
According to B-1 SPO Material Leader for Structures Lt. Col. Joseph Lay, “This project brings the B-1 into the same field as newly designed aircraft and allows digital modeling to predict future areas of concern. This will allow the SPO to proactively develop repairs, reduce the cost and schedule for parts procurement by eliminating the burden of interpreting legacy Air Force drawings, and increase the number of vendors who can produce parts for the B-1 platform. DE will help reduce the time it takes to develop repairs and install them. We will be able to develop and test repairs well in advance, virtually ensuring first-time success and improving aircraft availability.”
While new Air Force systems are born digitally, the transition to DE for legacy systems is complicated by various factors to include return on investment over the platform’s life cycle, vendor lock with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), and understanding where to start on a task of this size and complexity. The B-1 is proving legacy aircraft can find a benefit and has become a trailblazer for other legacy platforms to follow. Creating flexible requirements with a cost ceiling allows the B-1 to execute only those tasks which provide maximum benefit. Initially, B-1 chose to focus on structures, one of the main issues impacting fleet availability. With involvement in operations from the 1990s forward, the B-1 rapidly flew more hours than anticipated, accelerating the need to extend the original certified test life earlier than expected. While the SPO has made significant progress in the arenas of structural life, maintenance, and reliability, DE will breathe new life into the fleet, rejuvenating the B-1 to fly until the future bomber force is ready. Even in such short time, the SPO has already begun to benefit from DE activities. B-1 models have been delivered to aid in the design and manufacture of support fixtures for use at depot maintenance facilities and the first set of models are being supplied to third-party vendors to provide digital manufacturing data for complex components.
“NIAR is eagerly looking forward to continuing to support the B-1 SPO’s DE transformation by reducing cost, expanding the supply base, and increasing aircraft mission readiness. During the past two years, the B-1 program team has developed smart ways to implement DE for maximum impact on legacy platforms. Flexibility afforded through the NCMS contract has allowed NIAR to adapt to changing priorities,” said NIAR B-1 Program Director Melinda Laubach-Hock.
The B-1 SPO began its digital transformation in early 2020, creating a structural digital twin of a single wing. Since then the effort has expanded to include the structure of the entire airframe, the launch of an Integrated Digital Engineering Environment including a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tool, model based systems engineering (MBSE) efforts to create system modeling language (SySML) representations of various mechanical systems, technical order digitalization, the integration of systems and weapons to enhance the structural digital twin, structural and aerodynamic predictive simulation tool development, and other DE efforts.
“These programs provide unique educational opportunities for students to work with seasoned professionals, developing a talent pipeline the DOD is capitalizing on, particularly in the emerging field of digital engineering,” said Dr. John Tomblin, Senior Vice President for Industry and Defense at Wichita State University.
“We are excited to continue this partnership and move the B-1 further into the virtual world. We could not have achieved this without the great partnership and team between the SPO, NIAR, and NCMS to make this all happen,” said Lt Col Lay.
Both partners’ ambition is to achieve a minimum weight solution while ensuring the highest levels of safety.
Airbus has an agreement with Spirit AeroSystems through its subsidiary for the development of CityAirbus NextGen’s wings. This partnership will support Airbus’ exploration of disruptive aircraft design while complying with the most stringent regulations.
Spirit AeroSystems will be responsible for developing and manufacturing CityAirbus NextGen’s wings in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Both partners’ ambition is to achieve a minimum weight solution while ensuring the highest levels of safety. The structural concept of the eVTOL’s fixed wings will be able to transmit the related aerodynamic loads while being optimized for the right balance between hover and cruise efficiency. CityAirbus NextGen’s distributed propulsion system will contribute to reducing the influence of air turbulence.
“The partnership with Spirit AeroSystems is an important step for the development of CityAirbus NextGen and its wings are key structural components for flight efficiency,” said Jörg Müller, head of urban air mobility (UAM) at Airbus. “To build this vehicle, we are proud to work with Spirit as a strategic partner who benefits from a proven track record in this field, and extensive experience in component quality and airworthiness.”
With a significant UK footprint, particularly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, Spirit AeroSystems is one of the world’s largest suppliers of aerostructures and builds on years of manufacturing expertise in major aircraft components and architecture solutions. Its longstanding relationship with Airbus includes the provision of fully integrated wings and wing elements for multiple Airbus commercial aircraft. Extending existing collaboration between Airbus and Spirit AeroSystems, this partnership is a further sign of the Company’s commitment in the United Kingdom.
The fully electric CityAirbus NextGen is an eVTOL prototype equipped with fixed wings, a V-shaped tail, and eight electrically powered propellers as part of its distributed propulsion system. CityAirbus NextGen is being developed to fly with 80km operational range and to reach a cruise speed of 120km/h, suiting it for a variety of missions. Airbus is developing a UAM solution with eVTOLs not only to offer a new mobility service in urban areas and beyond but also as an important step in its quest to reduce emissions in aviation all over its product range.
The new facility is in Elgin, Illinois, and the grand opening event takes place March 15-17, 2022.
The management teams of Okuma America Corporation and Morris Group Inc. (MGI) announce a new facility to serve as a product showroom and technical center to showcase CNC machine tools and associated equipment. The public is invited to register and attend a grand opening event to commemorate the new facility on March 15-17, 2022.
Okuma and MGI have been business partners for 42 years, with MGI serving as Okuma’s sales, service, and product distribution partner in select regions throughout the United States. Today, the two companies announce the opening of a new facility strategically located in Elgin, Illinois, to serve as a product showroom and a technical center for machine tool users in the greater Chicago and Midwest region of the U.S. The facility includes office space and a showroom to house Okuma machine tools and other manufacturing-supportive technologies.
“Morris Midwest is responding to the needs of our customers with this new facility,” says Aaron Hornyak, COO of MGI. “The simple automation on display is an excellent solution to a skilled labor shortage and high product demand. We have created an environment where machines and automation will be on display together with experts to assist in providing solutions to help our customers gain a competitive edge.”
"This new facility presents our customers the opportunity to explore a variety of Okuma machine tools and witness live demonstrations that showcase the latest CNC technology and the machines' accuracy, high precision, and rigid construction," says Jim King, president and COO, Okuma America Corp. "Our decades-long partnership with Morris Group Inc., provides our customers with extensive industry expertise and comprehensive support and service to identify the best solutions for their manufacturing challenges."
Click here to register for the grand opening event.
Minteq International authorizes Aerobotix with FIREX distribution for DOD programs.
Huntsville, Alabama-based Aerobotix, an AS9100 certified Fanuc robotics integrator and metrology company, has an agreement with Minteq International Inc. to distribute Minteq’s FIREX™ RX-2390 Thermal Protection System (TPS) coating for hypersonic flight hardware. Aerobotix will work directly with Minteq’s Pennsylvania-based Pyrogenics Group, involved in high-temperature coatings for military and aerospace applications.
Minteq engaged Aerobotix for the company’s expertise in robotically spraying parts and test panels within extremely tight tolerances for uniformity and thickness of coverage. Aerobotix also has significant prior experience with major primes using the FIREX product.
“Our desire was to assist our customers and the U.S. Government in fielding hypersonic missiles and aircraft as quickly as possible,” said Kent Pfeifer, Aerobotix’s process development manager. “By making the commitment to keep fresh FIREX RX-2390 on our shelves, we can immediately assist the major programs by robotically spraying accurate panels and even prototype parts for flight tests.”
Aerobotix and the scientists at Minteq worked together to develop a FIREX RX-2390 recipe and a unique robotic paint dispensing system that is optimized for automation and heavy production. The FIREX formulations combine modified epoxy binders with thermally active materials that form cooling gases when exposed to temperatures more than 350°F.
Application of TPS coatings requires precision thicknesses control, even distribution of solids, and strong layer-bonding for optimal performance. Aerobotix’s customized robotic application process provides all this, plus the ability to automatically spray-taper the paint thickness in various areas of the part, which can reduce weight, manufacturing time, and cost.
Mark Breloff, Minteq technical sales manager, says, “Aerobotix can scan the part to get the as-built shape, spray to near-net, and then use the robot to sand down to the optimal shape and thickness.”
Aerobotix’s facility provides a broad selection of services for preparing and painting hypersonic structures, including automated structured light scanning/projection, automated masking tape application, automated FIREX spraying, automated non-contact Terahertz measurement, automated force controlled sanding and adaptive robotic machining of coatings.