Boeing To Automate 737 Wing Assembly
6/30/2014
FEATURE
MEDIA SPOTLIGHT – Boeing plans to convert a 737 assembly function to an automated process, Flightglobal.com reports. The move is intended to ramp up production capacity for the popular single-aisle aircraft.
“New panel assembly line (PAL) machines are now being installed on the production line for the 737 wings in Renton, Washington,” writes Stephen Trimble of Flightglobal.com.
Made by Electroimpact, the machine will fasten stringers to wing skin panels, Elizabeth Schryer, Boeing’s director of 737 business operations, told Flightglobal.com.
The machine is designed to install fasteners at twice the speed of machinists now performing the work, according to Schryer.
“Boeing expects the machines to deliver several benefits once they are installed and operational, including reducing flow times by one-third, defects by two-thirds, footprint by half and injuries to workers by half.”
Once fully operational, Boeing will have the capacity to build more than 60 wing sets per month in Renton, although production rates are not planned to exceed 47, according to Flightglobal.com.
A decade ago Boeing’s production rate for 737s was less than 20 per month.
Editor’s Note: Articles in Media Spotlight are excerpts from publications or broadcasts, which show the industry what the public is reading or hearing about fasteners and fastener companies.
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