North Texas Aerospace Automation Firm Serves as Prime Contractor for the Airbus A380s Rear Fuselage -- Largest Ever Produced in Carbon Fiber

AIT was as the prime contractor to provide turnkey tooling for the assembly of the A380 Section 19 from skin panels, skeletal, and empennage subassemblies. The tapered Section 19 is over 32 feet long and 28 feet tall at the forward end. AIT will be providing a combination of conventional fixed locating jigs for the smaller upstream assemblies and automated measurement and positioning fixtures for downstream integration. Multiple flexible circumferential drilling machines will automatically drill structure in the lower and upper shell subassemblies. A total of 12 assembly jigs and various transportation dollies delivered and the assembly line will entered production in late 2002.

Plano, TX (PRWEB) November 22, 2003 -Advanced Integration Technology (AIT), a North Texas based aerospace automation firm, has recently seen many months of its hard work come to fruition. In 2002 they were chosen to be the prime contractor to provide turnkey tooling for the assembly of Airbus A380 rear fuselage section (Section 19). The Airbus plant located in Getafe, Spain manufactures the largest primary structure carbon fiber fuselage section ever constructed. The tapered Section 19 is over 32 feet long and 28 feet tall at the forward end. The first such section was completed earlier this month, loaded on a Beluga transport aircraft and sent to the Airbus plant in Hamburg Germany for final assembly.

For the project, AIT provided not only automated, flexible alignment and positioning equipment but also traditional, conventional tooling including lifting fixtures, assembly jigs, working platforms and body fittings. The new flexible tooling will help increase production efficiencies by allowing equipment to work on various parts with very minimal retooling. AIT also created unique PC-based graphical interface software to control the positioning systems. Its ease of use has greatly reduced training and operating time.

In addition to the positioning systems, AIT engineered multiple circumferential drilling machines that will automatically drill structure in the upper and lower shell subassemblies. The structure, which is 30 feet in diameter and stands three stories tall, was designed in their facilities in Plano, Texas and Seattle, Washington and manufactured in their facility in Vancouver, Canada. The device will be used to drill, probe and install temporary fasteners in the 24,000 holes needed per section.

Advanced Integration Technology Inc. is an engineering and manufacturing company that specializes in turnkey aerospace factory automation. AIT has extensive experience in several manufacturing industries and has worked as a prime contractor for companies such as Airbus, The Boeing Company, McDonnell Douglas, Bombardier/Learjet, Northrop Grumman, and British Aerospace. Headquartered in Plano, Texas they also have design and manufacturing facilities in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, Canada.
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