Guy Norris/AW&ST
Boeing’s push to automate wing manufacturing at Renton is moving to the next phase with the introduction of the spar assembly line (SAL).
Two SAL cells, each containing four robotic drilling machines, are replacing less efficient automatic spar assembly machines introduced in the mid-1990s with the development of the 737NG. The SAL reduces machine footprint by 80% while increasing throughput by 33%—two key aspects of the drive to accelerate production to 47, 52 and 57 aircraft per month in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.
The first production spars were processed through the SAL in the third quarter of 2016 and will be up and fully running by the end of 2017. The SAL follows the introduction of the panel assembly line (PAL), an automated system developed by automated manufacturing specialist Electroimpact based in Mukilteo, Washington.
The introduction of the PAL process builds on the shift to the horizontal build line for the 737 wing, which came in 2012 as part of the longer term rate increase from 35 aircraft per month to 42 per month. The horizontal buildup system, which replaced the traditional system of drilling and fastening in static vertical jigs, also introduced automated machines made by Electroimpact and sped up the wing build lower skin assembly process by 35%.