The art of wing assembly

---

More 1 2 3

Wing assembly at Broughton

Final assembly of the wing box structure for all Airbus models takes place at the company's Broughton facility.

There are no specific timescales for application of the AWBA technology. The possibility of applying techniques developed for other aspects of Airbus manufacture are understood to be under consideration, although Airbus UK's particular (though not exclusive) responsibility is for wing design and production. Final assembly of the wing box structure for all Airbus models takes place at Broughton from parts and sub-assemblies produced there and at various factories. For the A319, A320, and A321, the wing is completed at Broughton with the addition of hydraulic, air, and electrical systems. Flying control surfaces are fitted and all systems tested before the wing sets are transported by air to the aircraft final assembly line—Toulouse, France, for the A320, and Hamburg, Germany, for the A319 and A321. Wings for the widebody Airbus airliners are shipped from Broughton to be installed by Airbus Deutschland. Airbus UK is also responsible for a section of fuselage for the A321. For the A380, Airbus UK's responsibility will be for overall design of the wing and fuel system, design and manufacture of the wing box, supply of fuel system equipment, and overall design and supply of landing gear.

There are six main phases to the production line at Broughton. Phase One is in the Major Components Center, where the machining of solid aluminum-alloy billets into skin panels takes place on what the company describes as the largest long-bed milling machines in Europe. Phase Two involves the treatment facility where a fully automated process cleans, degreases, deoxidizes, anodizes, and dries the panel via a series of tanks. This is followed by shot-peening to enhance the panel's fatigue life and induce curvature before it is returned to the treatment facility to undergo the full anodizing process before being transferred to the paint facility. Phase Four involves an overhead crane in the skin panel assembly area moving the panels around to be fitted with stringers through a process of automatic drilling, counter-sinking, riveting, and bolting. The basic wing box is then created in assembly jigs during Phase Five.

The AWBA could result in new technologies and techniques that could greatly reduce production costs and lead times for large aircraft wings such as those found on the A340-600.

All major structural components such as the ribs and spars are loaded into the jigs in a set sequence. The wing skins, with stringers attached, are progressively located and drilled before returning to the jig where all elements are bolted together. At this point in the manufacturing process comes a major division in production venues. Single-aisle wings fully equipped with flying control surfaces and electrical, hydraulic, and fuel systems are air-lifted by an A300-600 ST Beluga freighter from Broughton to Hamburg and (A320) Toulouse.

Wings for long-range aircraft are fitted with leading and trailing edges and have fuel and hydraulic systems installed. These wings are painted before being dispatched to Bremen, Germany, where moving surfaces are installed. In the past five years, investment at Broughton has totaled some $580 million, with $1.16 billion scheduled to be spent there between now and 2006. The need for such heavy investment is underlined by Airbus UK's statement that assembly methods had "changed little since 1969" when the first Airbus was manufactured. Although processes may have remained much the same, investment at Airbus UK has included the installation of a new state-of-the-art production line for A340-500/600 wing assembly. It embraces a skin mill capable of producing panels up to 41 m long, a new paint and treatments facility, two low-voltage riveting machines that attach stringers to the skin panels, and new assembly jigs.

More 1 2 3