Two Chinese Suppliers Choose Avure Flexform Press for COMAC 919 Component Production
Vasteras, Sweden (PRWEB) September 09, 2014 -- As the schedule ramps up to production of the COMAC 919, two first-tier Chinese suppliers have purchased fluid cell presses from Avure Technologies to reduce fabrication steps and dramatically decrease the cost of components they are manufacturing for the new single-aisle aircraft.
Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co. Ltd. and Xizi Aviation will install the sheet metal forming presses in facilities at Shanghai and Zehjiang, China, respectively.
Shanghai Aircraft has chosen an advanced 68,000-ton fluid cell press, with a forming area of 1.4 x 4 m (55.1 x 157.5 inch), to extend its current capacity. Using ultra-high pressure to form a wide variety of complex shapes, Avure Flexform™ fluid cell presses are a cost-effective, versatile manufacturing solution, particularly when speed is critical in reducing time-to-market and maintaining global competitiveness. The new Avure system is being designed for 1000 bar pressure, a great asset when streamlining production to minimize the need for manual labor.
Xizi Aviation, a relative newcomer in the aerospace fabrication family, selected Avure’s recently introduced model, the QFC 0.7x1.8-800, a 17,000-ton fluid cell press with a table size of 0.7 x 1.8 m (27.6 x 72 inch) and designed for 800 bar pressure. With a fast, 60-second process cycle, combined with low running costs, a space-saving small footprint, and easy installation directly at floor level, this press is a perfect match for Xizi’s focus on fabricating sheet metal parts for the airframe structure.
“These state-of-the-art high-pressure fluid cell presses are well suited to meet today’s imperative for less and less labor involvement, enabling the COMAC effort to compete with Western aircraft manufacturing methods,” comments Sture Olsson, Avure’s Global Metal Forming Business Unit Director. “The introduction and combination of high-pressure, modern tool design, and careful fabrication logistics may reduce earlier required fabrication steps by as much as 50 percent, doubling the production capacity and cutting cost by as much as 80 percent.”
With 156 to 168 seats, the new C919 is a new short/medium range commercial jetliner aimed at meeting growing airline interest worldwide in single-aisle models. It is designed to compete with the Airbus A320-NEO and the Boeing 737-MAX. All new aircraft designs seek to boost fuel efficiency, enhance safety, increase passenger comfort, and improve manufacturing efficiencies.
The new Flexform press will become Shanghai Aircraft’s second fluid cell press; its first was supplied by Avure (formerly under the brand name ASEA, then ABB) nearly 30 years ago, and is still operational at full processing parameters today.
Avure will be exhibiting at EuroBLECH 2014 in Hannover, Germany, October 21-25, in Hall 17, Stand D122.
About Avure Technologies
An innovator with a strong record of accomplishment, Avure Technologies (formerly known as ASEA, ABB, and Flow) demonstrates its expertise in high pressure by occupying leadership positions in industrial and food applications. The company is the largest global provider of ultra-high pressure systems utilized to form sheet metal, to process advanced materials, and to pasteurize foods without heat or chemicals.
Avure has installed over 1,700 high-pressure systems worldwide, more than all other competitors combined. These systems are characterized by technically sound design, superior reliability, energy efficiency, low maintenance costs, and many years of experience. Many Avure presses have been in service for more than 40 years, and some have surpassed 1 million high-pressure processing cycles.
Avure Industrial Group headquarters in Västerås, Sweden, house equipment design, manufacturing, and support operations, with additional facilities in Columbus, Ohio, USA, and regional sales and support operations globally. Read more about Avure Technologies: http://industry.avure.com/products/fluid-cell-presses-rectangular-forming-trays
About Shanghai Aircraft
Founded in 1950 and based in Shanghai, China, Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd. manufactures and assembles aircraft parts and components, such as the horizontal stabilizers it produces for Boeing 737 aircraft. The company also provides research and development and repair for large commercial aircraft. It operates as a subsidiary of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. Read more about Shanghai Aircraft at http://english.comac.cc/
About Xizi Aviation
With its facility in Zhejiang, China, established in 2010, Xizi Aviation is a tier-1 supplier of the C919 aircraft airframe structure, also providing high-quality products and services for Airbus, Boeing, COMAC, AVIC, Cessna, Bombardier, and others. Xizi Aviation capabilities extend from CNC machining, composite structures forming, and sheet metal forming, to heat and surface treatment, component assembly, digital measurement, and NDT. The company is a key business sector of Xizi UHC, which includes three subsidiaries: Zhejiang Xizi Aviation Industry Co., Ltd., Shenyang Xizi Aviation Industry Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Xizi Aerospace Fasteners Co., Ltd. Read more about Xizi Aviation at http://en.xiziac.com/
Sture Olsson, Avure Technologies, http://industry.avure.com, +46 705327241, [email protected]
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