Trends in Manufacturing and Assembly Technologies for next Generation Combat Aircraft

This paper covers the status on present manufacturing and assembly techniques and trends in new manufacturing technologies for the development of future combat aircraft. Aircraft building involves lot of challenges right from a detail component stage to the sub-assembly and assembly stage because of the complexity involved in the design and manufacturing of aerodynamic contour with weight control. The objective of this paper is to highlight the next generation manufacturing technologies which simplify the present production processes, improves the production rate and build quality. Advanced manufacturing techniques like CNC pipe bending for aircraft system pipelines, multi-pass Wire-EDM for cut-out brackets and actuator components, composite CNC machining for CFC panels, Multi-tasking machines for integrated machining of aircraft system parts, high speed machining to machine lengthy spars, etc., need to be adopted for series production. The various assembly techniques like modular assembly, manufacturing automation viz. Robotic arm for drilling, riveting, painting, inspection, etc., ensures repeatability and improved quality in series production. This paper brings out the emerging trends in manufacturing and assembly of next generation combat aircraft and the benefits derived in terms of cycle time and quality.