Virtek’s Advanced Laser Projection Systems Contribute to Bombardier’s Success with CSeries Aircraft
WATERLOO, ONTARIO, CANADA (PRWEB) September 17, 2013 -- Bombardier Aerospace’s new composite wing manufacturing and assembly facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland employed Virtek® LaserEdge® projection systems to help produce advanced composite wings for its new CSeries* commercial aircraft.
Virtek’s LaserEdge system is a three-dimensional laser templating system that eliminates the need for physical templates by precisely projecting a laser template onto molds to guide operators through the complex ply layup process, thereby ensuring quality and maximizing productivity.
Not simply providing the technology for this project, Virtek’s applications experts collaborated closely with Bombardier along the way to help find ways of overcoming the challenges involved in making these very critical and complex components.
Bombardier’s Belfast facility is responsible for the development, manufacture and assembly of the wings for the CSeries aircraft, a twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliner aimed at the 100- to 149-seat market.
Todd Rhodes, vice president and general manager of Virtek Vision, said, “For more than 15 years, Virtek has been a proud supplier of laser projection systems to Bombardier. Given the company’s prominence in the aerospace industry and reputation for quality, we have taken advantage of several opportunities to integrate Bombardier’s suggestions for product improvements into our product roadmaps.”
To date, Virtek has supplied LaserEdge projection systems to Bombardier manufacturing sites in Europe, Canada and Mexico.
The extensive use of advanced structural materials in the manufacture of CSeries aircraft results in significant weight savings and contributes to the 20 percent fuel burn advantage target over in-production aircraft in its class.
- CSeries is a trademark of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.
About Virtek Vision
Virtek Vision International Inc. (http://www.virtek.ca) of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, serves aerospace carbon fiber composite part assembly, sheet metal part fabrication and construction markets with high-precision laser templating, quality inspection and spatial positioning systems. The company serves the world’s top 10 aerospace companies, among others. It is owned by Gerber Technology of Tolland, Connecticut, USA.
About Gerber Technology
For more than four decades, Gerber Technology has been the world leader in providing sophisticated hardware and software systems to automate and more effectively manage the product design and manufacturing process. We serve 25,000 customers, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies, in the aerospace, apparel, retail, composites, packaging, furniture, technical textiles and transportation interiors industries in 130 countries. Our products help users move faster, at less cost and with the highest quality.
Based in Connecticut, USA, Gerber Technology is owned by Vector Capitol, a San Francisco-based, global private equity firm specializing in the technology sector that manages more than $1 billion of equity capital. Visit http://www.gerbertechnology.com for more information.
Debbie Marconi, Gerber Technology, http://www.gerbertechnology.com, 1 860-871-8082, [email protected]
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