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The Future of Airplane Factory: Digitally Optimized Intelligent Airplane Factory defines the architecture, key building blocks, and roadmap for actualizing a future airplane factory (FAF) that is digitally optimized for intelligent airplane assembly. They fit and integrate with other FAF building blocks that aggregate to a Digitally Optimized Intelligent Airplane Factory (DOIAF). The word'intelligent'refers to the ability of a system to make right decisions and take right action in the highly dynamic and fluid environment of the modern airplane manufacturing space. The event-driven dynamics inherent in the complexity of this environment drive the need for expert knowledge which resides in intelligence systems incorporating the experience of experts. Expert knowledge need not be smart, brilliant, or possess genius as long as the outcomes are derived from right decisions resulting in right actions-applied rapidly to sustain an optimized factory enterprise. Complete factory enterprise visibility requires a higher order of decision capability that current operating systems do not have. A highly visible factory collects and displays data and information as it happens-at a rate beyond the ability of humans and current systems to analyze, process, decide, and act upon. Expert systems are constructed to present humans with right decisions in the form of optimal choices for right actions by incorporating the knowledge of experts into the logic for the decision. Structured Knowledge-Based Expert Systems (SKBES) are incorporated in this book and defined as a critical component for full enterprise actionable visibility. The power of the Digitally Optimized Intelligent Airplane Factory not only is found in its ability to unify the factory, reduce touch labor, improve quality, and streamline throughput but it also enables a significant reduction in above-the-shop-floor support and management. Such an ecosystem frees the human to focus on the complexity of interpersonal responsibilities. If the use of a DOIAF can be viewed as a holistic mechanism, then the human can be the agent engaging with that mechanism; improving negotiations for pricing, contracts, or other person-to-person events that require instinct and relationship.

Up until the last two decades, aluminum in airplanes and steel in automobiles were the primary materials used to produce these two complex machines. These metal-to-metal assemblies, and specifically the same-type metal-to-metal assemblies, have resulted in distinct manufacturing process advantages over decades of production. However, advances in material types have driven manufacturing to adapt and align the fabrication and assembly processes to continue to facilitate a quality product that is reliable, can be manufactured at a price point that is affordable and be manufactured in quantities that can be widely distributed. Dissimilar metal and composite material assemblies are now requiring highly complex manufacturing processes. Innovations in Automotive and Aerospace Assembly addresses how these new, disruptive materials usage are changing the manufacturing and production processes for the transportation industries. Highlights and features in the book include: Non-contact laser technology's transition into aerospace use Emerging thickness and hole measurement gauge technologies Non-destructive adhesive inspection techniques The goal is to provide the latest technologies and methodologies being introduced into automobile and aerospace manufacturing - appealing to materials, manufacturing and design engineers alike.

Fusing aluminum in a multi-material lightweight vehicle is presented via studies on joining dissimilar materials, joining methods, and the performance of the joined materials. The use of aluminum offers a material that embodies properties to meet new standards as the automotive industry continues to pursue improvements in fuel efficiency and emissions. Aluminum's strength, light weight, and corrosion resistance offers manufacturers a material alternative to steel and an additional material, which has long been known in the industry, to be employed in automotive construction. Topics of technical interest include: • Forming • Galvanic Corrosion • Welding, Fastening, Bonding • Maximizing Weight Benefits Production of strong, lightweight structures will contribute significantly to automobile manufacturers meeting mandated fuel economy standards, as well as customer preferences for utility, comfort, and safety. Materials selection and application are critical components to the design of lightweight vehicles. Joining technologies and the relationship of the materials that are joined to meet the design and assembly requirements are presented in this work and also frame the foundation for innovative joining methods for the next generation of lightweight vehicles.

This essential information captures the state of the composites industry to assist engineering/technical professionals in charting a course for achieving economic success. The material characteristics of composites, their applications, and complex composites manufacturing processes depend on many factors. These are all fully considered and presented to meet the challenges that face this marketplace. The expert panel of writers from various industry segments (i.e., commercial/military aerospace, wind energy, automotive, and bicycle industries) address fundamental topics and explore the affordability of composites from raw material to end-of life-disposal costs with skilled perspectives that include: •Material characteristics and economics of composite structure •Complex manufacturing and specifics of assembly methods • Applications for composites •Product and human health •Safety and environmental impacts The authors provide strong basic economics concepts that are directly applied to the composites industry. The content conveys both the reality of the industry, as well as the trends and constantly emerging challenges that impact the cost of composites and are necessary for return on investment, as well as enabling the full potential of composites.

Modern aircraft manufacturing involves drilling and countersinking hundreds of thousands to millions of holes. Doing this work by hand accounts for 65% of the cost of airframe assembly, 85% of the quality issues, and 80% of the lost time due to injuries. Automated drilling and countersinking replaces traditional hand methods and involves using numeric control machinery to drill and countersink a finished hole “one shot” (drilling a finished hole without using pilot holes or tool changes). This is a proven cost reducing technology that improves quality where it has been applied successfully. The focus of this book is on automating the process of drilling and countersinking holes during airframe manufacturing. Since this is the area of greatest return on investment for airframe producers, the book provides a stepped approach for evaluating possible areas for applying automation and a detailed description of the process for choosing, acquiring, and transitioning the right machinery for success. It also provides a vision for a 10- to 15-year future state of airframe manufacture. Readers will use the information to: • Understand the evolution of automated/mechanized drilling and countersinking airframes. • Access decision models and matrices to help evaluate the feasibility of applying automation/mechanization to any airframe. • Gain access to a step-by-step procedure to select the right piece of machinery. • Learn the necessary processes for testing and transitioning machinery to production. • Assess and acquire data to evaluate the effect of the process. • Choose and train the right individuals to manage and run the machinery. • Conduct cost benefit analysis models. • Make recommendations for maintenance and spares. • Address socio-economic factors to reconfigure a facility from hand to automated activities. No other book provides such detailed technical, economic, and social information about automating the single largest contributor to airframe cost.