Wilson Tooling helps Airbus progress to form

Citation

(2002), "Wilson Tooling helps Airbus progress to form", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 74 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2002.12774cab.002

Wilson Tooling helps Airbus progress to form

Keywords: Tooling, Aircraft industry, Engineering

A key element in the sheetmetal punching operations of Airbus UK has been the capability of Wilson Tool International of Swindon to develop special tooling including progression tools for complete manufacture of small components on its Trumpf TC500R turret punch press and provide a 24 hour guaranteed delivery support on standard tooling (Plate 2).

Plate 2 Wilson Tool punch and die set for producing components at Airbus UK

Airbus UK was one of the first punch press users in the UK to utilise Wilson Tool's latest 2.4.1 tooling which reportedly not only allows double the regrind life of traditional 'Old Style', tools, it reduces tool change time to something of the order of 30 secs, guarantees punch alignment and eliminates any need to preset tooling.

Airbus UK, is principally responsible for the design and assembly of the wings for all Airbus models. The European company has developed a full range of civil airliners and is now neck-and- neck with Boeing of America in terms of world-wide market share.

An element of the UK fabrication operations are based at Filton, Bristol which produces a wide range of components and sub-assemblies using a variety of metal forming and fabrication processes. At the Filton site, the Trumpf computer controlled punch press is used both to profile flat patterns and to produce completed components by blanking and forming and, in order to fully exploit the capabilities of this machine, Airbus UK has developed a close working relationship with Wilson Tool.

Eddie Johnson, Airbus UK's manufacturing engineer most closely involved with the punch press project, explains the background: "We have a wide-ranging requirement for sheet metal components produced from various grades of aluminium, mild steel, stainless steel and titanium. Design data is sent in CAD format, from which we develop flat patterns with the necessary bending allowances prior to commencing manufacture."

CNC routing machines are utilised to profile larger components while the punch press is used to generate profiles up to 300 mm square ready for bending and forming. Surprisingly for an aerospace company, components such as washers, spacers and brackets are produced on the punch press at a rate of several thousand a week, though batches of between five and 50 are more common on larger parts.

Batch quantities are dictated by the company's order-driven production system and as a result, dynamic nesting is combined with a range of standard sheet sizes from 500 mm square to two metres by one metre. Materials vary in thickness up to 6 mm on aluminium, 3.6mm on stainless steel and 2mm on titanium.

Eddie Johnson continued: "We have a significant requirement for blanked components such as washers and small brackets as well as more conventional sheet metal profiles so we selected a Trumpf TC 500R punch press because it gave us the facility to populate the tool magazine entirely with blanking tools up to 77.7 mm maximum diameter. Similarly, we needed to have a local tool supplier so we could work closely on tool development and one that could provide a quick turn-around on standard tools as well as our more commonly required specials. Here, Wilson Tool fitted the bill in not only being local but having the necessary expertise and facilities for special tool development and manufacture."

The Trumpf machine, stores its tooling on the back rail, and can carry a total of 33 tools achieved through use of a six and four-station multi-tool. The multi-tools are permanently resident for punching of smaller diameter holes and features and frees up capacity for full-size tooling on the machine.

Many of Airbus UK's components are produced using conventional round, square, triangular and ob-round tools while a large number of components are produced by what amounts to fine blanking of a specific shape for which Wilson Tool has specifically developed the appropriate design. Similarly, Wilson Tool has so far developed two types of two-stage progression tool which are used to blank and form particular components in a continuous sequence on the punch press far more cost-effectively than the normal production route of using a power press.

"We have to be very careful when it comes to using form tools as there are strict approvals and traceability requirements for processes which alter the metallurgical state of a material," Eddie Johnson added. "However, there are a number of further examples where Wilson Tool has successfully developed tooling to punch and form small components."

One example of a progression tool for use on the Trumpf is for production of a 1.2 mm thick cable support bracket in L166 aluminium. Although an apparently simple part, the combined punching and forming requirement is quite complex. As well as producing the basic shape of the bracket – a flat centre section with support feet at either end – it is also necessary to dish the centre section to provide a location for the cable.

The punch press operation is carried out by firstly punching the mounting holes in the two bracket feet. The sheet is then repositioned over the Wilson Tool two-stage progression tool which initially makes the form and then punches out the completed bracket.

"We produce 2,000 of these at a time and the capability to finish them in one operation is an important time saver and reduces work in progress," Eddie Johnson reports: "We have another part made from 0.8 mm titanium where the requirement is to produce a 15 degree bend either side of a 5 mm wide flat section. Again, Wilson Tool developed a combination form and blanking tool for the Trumpf so we can complete it in one operation. Previously, we had to blank out the flats in batches of 2,500 and an operator then had to manually feed a power press to form the bends."

The service provided by Wilson Tool is regarded as very good by Eddie Johnson. For non Airbus- specific tools, delivery from Swindon to Filton is usually achieved within 24 hours of order. Given the relatively small volumes required on most components, Airbus UK has not taken advantage of the Wilson Optima coating system which is able to prolong tool life by up to 500 per cent.

However, the Wilson 2.4.1 system, which has recently been developed for fixed head tooling applications such as are found on Trumpf, Pullmax and Euromac punch presses has been taken up. The key advantages of 2.4.1 are the tooling systems double the regrind life of an otherwise standard tool and direct keying which allows immediate error-free loading of punches to the machine without need for presetting.

As Eddie Johnson concluded: "In the longer term, savings from 2.4.1 will increase due to the extra regrind life as tool replacement costs reduce. For the present, we're very pleased with the service that we receive from Wilson Tool and we have every confidence in its technical capabilities to design and manufacture special tooling solutions and provide us with a quick delivery so we do not have to maintain excessive tool stocks."

Details available from: Wilson Tool International. Tel: +44 01793 831818.