KAI buys Scharmann FMS from DST

Edited by the Manufacturingtalk editorial team Jun 16, 2009

Germany-based Doerries Scharmann Technologie (DST) will supply a seven-machine Scharmann flexible manufacturing system (FMS) to aircraft maker Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

The order comprises seven Ecospeed F five-axis machining centres linked by a rail-guided transport system with three loading and unloading stations and 60 storage stations for machine pallets.

The investment follows the award to KAI of a contract to make and deliver main-wing structures for the Airbus consortium's next generation of A350 XWB wide-body airliners, of which 200 will be built over 10 years from 2010.

The DST machining centres will be used to produce the ribs that form the aerofoil shape of the wings.

The first machine will arrive in Korea in November 2009, with the seventh scheduled for delivery in January 2014.

The Ecospeed F uses the Sprint Z3 parallel kinematic machining head, which DST claims is the most productive and efficient solution on the market for machining aluminium aircraft-parts.

All of the machining centres produce workpieces up to a maximum of 2000 x 6000mm.

The Sprint Z3's C-axis positions the drilling/milling head, allowing the machine to remove material at any dihedral angle (the angle between the wing and the fuselage) between +/- 130 degrees.

The spindle head can be exchanged automatically, offering more complex metal-cutting options than a conventional machining centre.

The interference contour between tool shaft and machining head is only 50mm.

The drive power of the high-performance spindle is 120kW (100 per cent duty cycle) and it reaches speeds of up to 30,000rev/min, with a maximum torque of 83Nm.

Each machine has a rack-type, 125-position tool magazine.

A vacuum workpiece-clamping system, video monitoring and Sinumerik 840 D control system complete the specification.