The manufacture of components for aeronautical sector component manufacturing sector component manufacturing lives his particular age of gold

For the passengers of the aeroplanes, can that the golden age of the aviation was the years fifty or sixty, but, for the manufacturers and the providers the new was of splendour is the present. The trips in aeroplane multiply , the aeroplanes and the engines go back more effective and reliable, and the aerial lines buy them in big quantities. The manufacturers of willing components to invest in the technology, the professionals and the suitable processes can see working for some of the most important companies of the sector. It is the case of the company of Connecticut AeroCision.

The original owners of AeroCision, founded fifty years ago, lived basically to sell to local companies. It is fed up unlikely that, in these years in which the technology of manufacture was relatively original, imagined that a day would manufacture components for the engines of the aeroplanes of passengers more modern, by not speaking of the fact to serve to a customer situated to 5.000 kilometres of distance.

“No longer there are borders”, says Andrew Gibson, adviser delegated of AeroCision. “When my partner and I did us with the company does some years, the big manufacturers of the aeronautical sector were racionalizando his list of providers”. To have possibilities to remain in these lists reduced, it was necessary to invest a lot in control of quality, in processes of introduction of new products and in the best technology of mechanised that there was in the market. “To the customers did not matter them that we were in Connecticut”, adds Gibson. “The only that explained was that we could give them the precision, the quality and the efficiency that asked”.

AeroCision Is specialised in rings turnings for engines turbofán, pieces that are used to to have between 150 and 750 millimetres. According to the director of operations Glen Fournier, now receive asked of components bigger simply because the dimensions of the engines also have increased. “Now we are doing pieces torneadas and milled for the zones that reach greater temperature of some engines with a high index of derivación that manufactures a very known company. They are the engines that use the new aeroplanes bigger, like the Boeing 787”.

The factory of AeroCision is flawless, as it would fit to expect of a company that has to fulfil the standards of the aeronautical sector. In the backside of the plant there is one thousand four hundred square metres available to expand the capacity of manufacture, whereas in the leading part can see two units of production that are full of machines Haas and bullen of activity: one with centres of mechanised vertical CNC and the another with lathes CNC.

“Two of the essential things for us and for our customers —says Fournier— are the delivery in the agreed term and a product without defects. There are penalties by not finishing a request to time, even for sending it too prompt, and apply to rajatabla. So my more important tasks are to schedule, control and reduce the times of tuned and of cycle. The speeds and the advances are crucial, since the processes require to remove a lot material. We do thrown of between twenty and twenty-five units, so we have to be fast when changing tie up them. The pieces of greater size need some plates of tie up and transport very designed, and our machines Haas have measurers of tools. Also we are adopting the statistical control of processes (SPC) and certifying to the operarios like inspectors, something that will help us a lot of. With the SPC, will obtain data that will be able to analyse and represent in shape of charts of tendencies in the screens of the factory. Besides, with the system of palpado of the machines, will be able to measure the pieces and send the information to the database, so that the operarios can send the pieces to a part or another of the workshop of form much more effective”.

AeroCision Is connected permanently to one of his main customers, situated in the British place of Chester. The system of the customer downloads the plan of production each Monday in the morning and matters it to his system of planning of business resources. Like this, they schedule the workers, the machines and other resources for all the week. “The customers demand us a percentage of delivery to time of 98% and is a pride can affirm that we never have delivered a request late and that never have sent a piece that did not fulfil our standards of quality”, says Fournier.

In the phase of development of an especially complex ring, AeroCision was able to surpass the difficulties and have smart the first component a lot before the planned. “We begin the project in October and had to deliver it in April”, account. “But we finish the first just piece before Navidad. We had the four fresadoras Haas working, but needed more capacity of turning, so we buy the ST-30. We did a photo of the operarios with the piece finished and command it to him to the customer with a congratulation navideña. They remained loved”.

Andrew Gibson, adviser delegated of the company, thinks that to choose the machines-tool CNC suitable has been crucial to surpass the expectations of the customers, and will keep on being it in the future for the good course of the company. “Many of the big companies of the aeronautical sector are externalizando a lot of pieces to providers cheaper of other countries. So we have to offer pieces and units more complex, that have value added, and devote our resources to attain processes more effective”. There was a period in that a relatively small company like AeroCision would have had it very difficult to buy machines-tool CNC that had the sufficient precision, but this has changed. Now almost any company can access to the machines. The key resides in knowing use them. “The pieces that manufacture are complicated, and the tolerances are minimum, so it is fundamental to have of a solid and reliable process to be able to keep on being competitive although we produce in Connecticut”.

Guy Nigro is the attendant of the unit of lathes: “The lathes ST of Haas are excellent machines”, says. “During the five years that had the previous lathes, the SL, did not have any problem. They were good machines, resistant and reliable, but the new ST are still better. They are more rigid, what means that we can reach without problems the tolerances in materials like the Inconel, for example. Also they are easy to program, so much manualmente as from the room of programming, and handle them is very simple”.

When the manufacturers reduce his number of providers, usually only there is an opportunity to be in the list. But once inside... “The customers are moving some centres of production and setting to countries like India —adds Gibson—, from where will manufacture for the local market. We expect to be there also with our customers, with new near installations to be able to deliver the pieces quickly and in accordance with the standards of quality to which ours factory of EE UU has them accustomed. We will use the machines CNC of Haas in any place of the world in which we are”.

In the actuality, the aeronautical sector demands to the providers that adopt new technologies and processes, and apply a control of quality very rigorous, as in the first years of the numerical control. But, unlike then, the technology of manufacture can be marking the guideline in some fronts, to measure that the machines-tool CNC are more affordable and precise. Like this, it is very likely that the development of aircraft and engines accelerate and was more profitable, and that providers of pieces of precision like AeroCision carry a greater portion of the cake.