Embraer automatizes assembly line of new aircraft wing

Embraer has taken the lead by automatizing the assembly process of the wings of its new E-Jet E2 family with an innovative technology, pursued and not yet dominated by big aircraft makers Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier.

Just like in the auto industry’s assembly line, wings are now built in a moving line, equipped with robots that make the entire riveting process (drilling and insertion of rivets), including quality inspection.

“Each E2 wing has about 15,000 drills. The robot makes no mistake. The level of quality of the process is up to a thousand times better than if it were done manually,” says Francisco Soares, vice president of supplies at Embraer.

The challenge involved in this new process that Embraer began implementing recently, Mr. Soares says, is very big, because when you have a moving assembly line any problem that emerges in the middle of the operation can halt the production and delay the delivery of aircraft during the month. “In order to prevent this from happening you need to have a disciplined assembly line. It only works if the entire process that supports your operations is perfectly in tune,” he says.

Embraer enabled the E2 assembly line to produce approximately ten jets per month, but this number may rise a little if there is demand. Currently Embraer has two moving templates of 40 tonnes each to assemble the E2 wing, which is 18 meters long.

Until 2018, when the first E2 jets will be delivered to the market, Embraer intends to set up six moving templates for the wing at the assembly line of the new aircraft.

The use of intelligent digital tools to execute different production processes has been helping Embraer to develop and manufacture its airplanes in an ever shorter time and with more quality. Embraer is no different from other big manufacturers that are heavily investing in automation, Mr. Soares says.

“We are studying processes in which we can have higher quality with the application of automation, especially those that involve repetitive tasks, which are more prone to errors,” he says. The painting of primary parts (assembly components), for example, is another recent example of robot use.

The development of each aircraft in the company is fully made in a Catia digital environment. Since 2011, with the production of business jets Legacy 450 and 500, this project information has been connected to the manufacturing department through the Manufacturing Execution System, a tool that gets the entire project content.

From there, the assembly sequence is visualized in tablets by the operator of the assembly line. “The operator accesses the information in real time. If there is any change over the process, he can act immediately,” Mr. Soares says.

Unlike the auto industry, aircraft makers deal with a large variation of parts and small unit quantity (of the same part). “Because of this our goal is to have flexible automation that can be adapted to different parts,” he adds.

From the automation standpoint, he says, Embraer has reached the same competitiveness level of big rivals Airbus and Boeing. The American company has even sent a representative to visit the Brazilian jet maker recently and have a closer look at the operation of moving templates where the E2 wings are produced.

In Évora, Portugal, Embraer has built two centers of excellence in the production of metallic structures and composites. “These two plants make the coating of the E2 wing. Embraer implemented in Évora the state of the art in automation,” Mr. Soares says.

The new E2 generation of jets is the third big project in which Embraer applies new automation and digital plant technologies. “The Legacy 500 was the first project in which we managed to combine the benefits of automation with the product. Then came KC-390, in which we advanced a little more, and now with E2 we are increasingly closer to the concept of 4.0 factory,” Mr. Soares says.

In the so-called digital manufacturing or 4.0 factory, Mr. Soares says, all production machines and sensors will talk among themselves. “Machines will provide real-time information of what is happening in the production and Embraer is moving into this direction,” he says.

• Tweetar