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787 - Tomorrow's factory today

From Seattle Times:

Tomorrow's factory today: A lone technician at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kan., tends the machine that winds carbon fiber tape around a mold to form the plastic shell of the 787's entire forward fuselage section. Shown is part of what will be airplane No. 7.

I know it doesnt look like much, but what you see in that picture is a revolution taking place. That "lone technician" is making an aircraft fuselage not with the "tried and true" method of 100's of men with rivet guns putting aluminum panels on aluminum frames, this man is making an aircraft fuselage out of carbon fiber using a process that is largely automated; much like the way that Doritos come out of a machine at Frito Lay.

Heres another view of the aircraft under construction:

We can again notice the lack of people involved on the factory floor. You can also notice that the fuselage is turned on a central axis, like someome using a lathe to make a baseball bat, rather than making a hull for a ship and bolting the planking on the side as has been done in the past.

Here's another view that shows the scale of the operation. Look in the background of the shot and see if you can notice something different:

Yes, thats a fuselage being turned around a central robotic arm. Notice the size of the people in the group to the left? Notice that none of them are actually working on the aircraft at the moment?

Now compare it to this:

This is a picture of the last "classic" 737 being built, which compared to the processes and methods used to create the 787 is like looking at a picture of the DC-3 being built (and now that Douglas is a part of Boeing, I can say that without anyone taking offense, can't I?)

The 787 is a revolution not just because it has "comfy seats" for the passengers and big windows, its a revolution in its manufacturing process as well.

Posted @ April 23, 2007 07:52 AM | Aviation