Page 44 - MetalForming July 2019

Market Report: Aerospace
Engineered for Boeing as part of the NASA SLS (Space Launch System) project for sending long-range rockets to the Moon and Mars: two 200-ft.-long, 18-ft.-high fabri- cated platforms from WB Industries.
parts.The offering combines light-sec- tion technology, 2D vision sensors with integrated LEDs and a vision camera. Sensors can be parameterized using data-matrix control codes.
“This is a much simpler and equally effective technology than complex visions systems with expensive cameras and external lights,” says Marcel Ulrich, product manager at P+F.
“Triangulation-based, the technology uses a camera and laser light,” explains GaryPaci,alsoaproductmanageratP+F. “The emitter projects a light onto the surface. Once the signal is reflected and received, programmed sensors determine shapes and contours. The large 160-mm detection field, simple teach-in of new reference contours, and simultaneous evaluation of the object and background laser lines ensure reliable detection of objects as small as 0.4 mm.”
Accentuating Additive
Another aerospace trend worth nothing: the ascent of metal 3D print- ing as traditional and additive manu- facturing (AM) join forces via acquisi- tions. Among them: the purchases of Dover, NH-based Form 3D Solutions by Eastford, CT-based Whitcraft Group and Macomb, MI-based Baker Indus- tries by Cleveland, OH-based Lincoln Electric.
Founded in 2015, Form 3D Solutions uses two EOS M290 machines to 3D print direct-metal-laser-sintered (DMLS) parts. Its acquisition by Whitcraft Group earlier this year leaves Form 3D Solutions founder and general man- ager, Joseph Gabriel, and partner Vojta Kubec, engineering manager, feeling “ecstatic” as they look forward to advancing AM in aerospace.
“Every year, the FAA approves more metal 3D printed parts, such as internal brackets and fuel nozzles,” says Gabriel. “As more materials and equipment clear the regulatory process, there con- tinues to be innovations in 3D printed aerospace parts and tooling as well as more equipment advancements.” Gabriel looks forward to multilaser machines with larger build footprints for greater throughput and productiv-
metal formers and suppliers, with some sharing their thoughts with MetalForm- ing on the following pages.
Platforms Enable Long-Range Rockets to Mars
At WB Industries, an O’Fallon, MO- based fabricator with full machining, welding and finishing capabilities, Gary Bertolucci, owner and president, says that the aerospace and defense indus- try represents about 75 percent of its business. Much of it comes in the form of highly engineered tooling and workaround platforms made of alu- minum and designed for getting vari- ous components, and the people who will be installing them, into place for final assembly.
One such system, recently engi- neered for Boeing as part of NASA’s SLS project for sending long-range rockets to the Moon and Mars, called for the development of two 200-ft.-long, 18- ft.-high fabricated platforms using 6 by 6 by 1⁄2-in. Type 6061 aluminum tubing. Welded frames include tops outfitted with aluminum slider decking, that when extended, closes the gap between the deck and the rocket.
If you are having difficulty picturing all of this, Ken Wasiuta, general man- ager at WB, can help. “Picture a 200-ft. rocket laying down like a pencil on a desk, with the two platforms positioned on either side,” he begins. “When the
rocket is moved out of position, the sliders retract. With the rocket in place, the sliders extend out to where they just touch the rocket. Other than the safety railings and stairs that we fabri- cated, the fall protection and electrical outlets that we included, and the swivel casters for towing and maneuvering, this is a simple platform.”
Simple, perhaps, but its size pre- sented challenges, says John Schallert, WB’s manager of design. “Because of the project’s size, transport was a fac- tor,” he says. “The lower portion of the platform, with the lower deck, structural uprights and stairs, and the upper por- tion with the upper deck, uprights and gussets, were designed for disassembly to facilitate shipping from our Missouri plant to NASA’s Michoud facility in New Orleans, LA. So, while the project wasn’t overly complex, with 16 ready-to- assemble modules between the two platforms, logistics were challenging.”
Detection Tasks Provide Opportunities
For Twinsburg, OH-based Pepperl+ Fuchs (P+F), aerospace presents oppor- tunities for its SmartRunner sensing technology for demanding detection tasks, such as distinguishing grey rivets on grey, stamped airplane parts or for ensuring accurate placement of mate- rial delivered by automated guided vehicles to presses stamping fuselage
42 MetalForming/July 2019
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