Aerospace Assembly | Assembly

How Ford's Willow Run Assembly Plant Helped Win World War II

The Willow Run bomber plant made aviation, industrial and social history—along with new B-24s by the hour.

January 3, 2019

President Roosevelt stunned millions of listeners when he announced during a May 26, 1940, fireside chat that government must "harness the efficient machinery of America's manufacturers" to produce 50,000 combat aircraft over the next 12 months to confront the "approaching storm" of global war.

SpaceX Mars Spaceship Could Launch by March

December 24, 2018

BOCA CHICA, TX—Last Saturday SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed that construction of a prototype for a Mars spaceship, called Starship, is now underway, and that the first round of its experimental launches may be completed by early spring.

New Carbon Fiber Material Is Self-Sensing

December 19, 2018

Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently developed carbon-fiber composites that can monitor their own structural health. The technology could be used in future aerospace and automotive applications.

NASA R&D Projects Tackle New Aircraft Technologies

Austin Weber

December 10, 2018

Engineers at NASA recently earmarked a couple of emerging technologies that may alter the way aircraft are designed and built in the coming decades. If successful, each could lead to planes that are quieter, more energy efficient and produce fewer emissions.

Airbus Delivers First A330 Jet to TAP Air Portugal

December 4, 2018

LISBON, Portugal—Airbus S.E. delivered the first of its A330neo widebody aircraft to TAP Air Portugal here last week. The A330-900 jet is the first of 20 to be supplied to the carrier in the coming year.

First 777X Test Aircraft Hits Assembly Milestone

November 27, 2018

EVERETT, WA—Boeing recently announced that the major fuselage sections of the first 777X test aircraft have been joined together. This assembly milestone, called the final body join, occurs when the airplane’s nose, mid and aft sections are connected.

Airbus to Build Second Assembly Plant in Mobile

November 20, 2018

MOBILE, AL—Airbus has hired construction management firm HPM to plan, design and build a new assembly plant here to produce A220 aircraft. The new facility will be located adjacent to Airbus’ existing factory in Mobile.

The hydraulic fluid in pulse tools must be changed regularly

Best Practices for Tool Maintenance

Even the most technologically advanced fastening tools require regular maintenance and calibration

John Sprovieri

November 8, 2018

Fastening tools are the workhorses of any assembly operation. Consider a high-volume automotive plant. If a vehicle contains 1,000 threaded fasteners and an assembly line is turning out 250,000 vehicles annually, that’s more than 250 million run-downs each year.

Boeing Opens First European Assembly Plant

November 7, 2018

SHEFFIELD, UK—Boeing opened a new assembly plant here Oct. 25, its first in Europe.

Airbus, Northrop Grumman Partner on Wing Assembly

October 29, 2018

DULLES, VA—Airbus and Northrop Grumman Corp are partnering to develop next-generation composite manufacturing technology. The three-year Wing of Tomorrow program will explore complex composite wing stiffener forming automation and out-of-autoclave material systems.