Radical Departures - Boeing Wichita Summary

Understanding the Elements: The Coordination of Materials, Coatings and Geometry

Manufacturer Competes with MAG3 MMC Investment

Most Powerful Integral Drive Spindle in the World Available

A66E-5XD Five-Axis Machine Ideal for Turbine Parts

Makino's A99E-CD Offers Aerospace Productivity and Flexibility

	There's working hard. You know, the long, back-breaking climb up the ladder that defines the business rite of passage? Then there's working smart, figuring out not just how to climb, but where you can find a taller ladder. The Boeing Commercial Airplane Group is in an industry where working smart isn't a luxury; it's a prerequisite for success. Constant innovation is essential to maintaining a competitive edge. Lead time and cycle time reductions must be achieved while simultaneously improving quality levels across all manufacturing processes. To that end, Boeing's Wichita, Kansas-based facility recently began using high-speed machining cells to manufacture window belt frames faster and more effectively. Boeing Wichita opted to move from dedicated machinery to three Makino MC1816-5X high-speed machining cells to increase part quality and throughput while decreasing cycle time. The move not only eliminated consolidated part finishing and hole-drilling operations, it slashed cycle time by more than 30 percent, improved hole accuracy to a few thousandths of an inch in tolerance and cut out costly set-up time, allowing the machines to run constantly across three shifts, five days a week. The impressive volumetric accuracy provided by the FAA-certified window belt frame cell has proven so reliable that it no longer requires a coordinate measuring machine. The probing apparatus measures the parts before the machining process to ensure no human error has been made. Boeing's quality teams then rely on machining center data, dramatically reducing part inspection time from hours to minutes. The MC1816-5Xs are as flexible as they are efficient, with cells capable of producing each of the 24 different window belt frame models for the 737 Next Generation, 767 and 777 airplanes. And since the machining centers provide more throughput than expected, Boeing pulls in work from other areas within the facility to keep it busy. At Boeing, working smarter isn't a passing fancy. It's a long-term strategic plan that keeps building on itself. Om Tandon, the Boeing engineer responsible for the new cells, agrees. "The next innovation will come from the shop floor. These high-speed cells eliminate a lot of operator work, allowing them to work with their heads more than their hands. This is a new role and it will yield fresh ideas." Copyright © 2001 - 2008 by Makino, Inc. All rights reserved.