Airbus takes off towards a future of autonomous unmanned aircrafts

In February 2018, Airbus’ Skyways parcel delivery drone successfully completed its first flight demonstration in Singapore, while prototyping for the Quadcruiser to deliver heavier loads such as medical supplies is also underway.

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Additive Manufacturing In Aerospace: Strategic Implications

Aerospace manufacturers have used Additive Fabrication Systems since ’80s. But in the past few years, rapid advancements in Additive Fabrication Technology have led applications of the technology in the aerospace industry to proliferate.

Additive Manufacturing formerly occupied a niche role in aerospace manufacturing as a technology for prototyping. As recent developments suggest, however, Additive Technology is rapidly becoming a strategic technology that will generate revenues throughout the aerospace supply chain.

Firms that are already committed to shifting the strategic dynamics of Additive Manufacturing in Space and Defense Markets include: Airbus, Boeing, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, and Pratt & Whitney.

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Additive Manufacturing in the Aerospace Industry [WEBINAR]

The aerospace industry is leading the way for adoption of Additive Fabrication technologies for manufacturing applications. With widespread adoption of Additive Manufacturing for jigs, fixtures, and tooling applications on the shop floor, as well as the announcements of trailblazing companies like United Launch Alliance and Airbus qualifying additive manufactured high performance thermoplastic parts for flight applications, and the printed jet UAV demonstrated in 2015, the future of the industry is starting to take shape.

The webinar will be presented by Scott Sevcik, the Senior Manager for Aerospace & Defense Business Development at Stratasys. In this role, Scott is responsible for accelerating the adoption of 3D Printing in the aerospace and defense industries globally through building partnerships for application and technology development. Prior to Stratasys, Scott led the program management team developing sensors and integrated systems for commercial transport aircraft at United Technologies Aerospace Systems. At UTAS, and Lockheed Martin before that, he led engineering teams on development projects for the SmartProbe® AirData System, the Taiwan P-3 Aircraft, and a satellite launch program.  Scott also led proposal efforts for UAVs, avionics, and missile defense programs at Lockheed Martin. Scott holds Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Aerospace Engineering from San Jose State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Political Science from Iowa State University.

During the webinar you will learn about:

The recent steps forward in manufacturing for the aerospace industry

The key applications in which the technology is in use

Where Additive Manufacturing for aerospace is headed

Watch the on-demand webinar below to learn more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=sIekelipT8k

Airbus to implement UAVs at their plants

Airbus has already demonstrated the use of Ascending Technologies’ Falcon 8 UAV with RealSense depth-sensing technology from Intel to visually inspect airliners. The manufacturer has said it will implement UAV inspections of the A350XWB widebody airliner this year.

As said, for the initial tests the company used a multi-rotor UAV supplied by Ascending Technologies, a German company that U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Intel acquired in early 2016. “Now it’s a manual system with people having to climb all over the plane,” Intel CEO Brian Krzanich told the Xponential 2017 conference in Dallas in May. “With Airbus we’ve developed a system that’s capable of doing inspections both on the tarmac or in the hangar. Airbus has developed additional software that allows you to do an airplane inspection, identify and geolocate defects, understand their size and dimensions, then push out a data report that allows you to go back and do a repair.”

The GRVC-CATEC team will implement a UAV-based tool delivery and locating system at Airbus Defence and Space’s Centro Bahía de Cádiz site in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain, early next year, said Antidio Viguria, head of CATEC’s avionics and unmanned systems department. The plant specializes in manufacturing carbon fiber components for programs including the A400M transport and A330 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport). It also produces fan cowl doors for the A320neo narrowbody airliner.

Airbus: UAVs for aircrafts inspection

Airbus has demonstrated he benefits of using UAVs for aircraft visual inspection at the Farnborough International Airshow.

With this new method, the aircraft downtime for inspection is reduced to 10 to 15 minutes, instead of 2 hours using conventional methods.

The images catched up by the UAV cameras and especially those showing any potential non-quality such as scratches, dents and painting defects, are compiled in a 3D digital model, recorded in a database and then analysed. 

In addition, picture analysis can be done anytime afterwards and in an office, so the benefits of this innovative tool and process are significant: “The use of this new technology offers better working conditions including improving the safety and comfort for the quality inspectors”, says Nathalie Ducombeau, Airbus head of quality.

Airbus presenta a THOR, su UAV impreso en 3D

THOR (Testing High-tech Objectives in Reality) es el UAV fabricado por Airbus a través de la impresión 3D.

El sistema europeo "Sense and Avoid" progresa adecuadamente

Hace unas horas, Alenia Aermacchi ha dado a conocer que las primeras pruebas del futuro sistema anticolisión automático para vehículos aéreos no tripulados han resultado todo un éxito.

Las pruebas han sido llevadas a cabo durante las últimas semanas utilizando la base aerea de Grazzanise y durante las mismas fue utilizado un avion de transporte C-27J de Alenia Aermacchi, que voló intencionalmente cerca de un UAV Sky-Y a diferentes altitudes y con diferentes direcciones.

El Sky-Y estaba equipado con radio, electro-ópticos, infrarrojos y radares proporcionados por el consorcio MIDCAS, que comprende Airbus D&S, ESG, Indra, Saab, Sagem, Selex-ES y Thales, así como Alenia Aermacchi. Los países que participan en el proyecto MIDCAS son Francia, Alemania, Italia, Suecia y España.

EasyJet usará UAVs

La conocida aerolínea de bajo coste EasyJet ha decidido utilizar aviones no tripulados para llevar a cabo más rápidamente las inspecciones de seguridad en sus aeronaves, de acuerdo a un plan que va a poner en marcha a partir de 2016.

En palabras de Carolyn McCall, directora ejecutiva de EasyJet, "Hemos hecho grandes avances en el desarrollo de nuestro futuro plan de inspecciones técnicas de nuestras aeronaves mediante el uso de aviones no tripulados y hemos cerrado un acuerdo de colaboración con Airbus para desarrollar e implementar una herramienta de pronóstico en tiempo real durante el vuelo, a fin de conseguir nuestro objetivo de eliminar los retrasos motivados por inspecciones técnicas."

El plan contempla el uso de pequeños UAVs compactos que sobrevolarán la aeronave al objeto de poder observar con rapidez determinados puntos de control, evitando así la necesidad de llevar a cabo inspecciones humanas tan lentas como potencialmente peligrosas.

The Global UAV Market 2015-2025

Ya está disponible el estudio The Global UAV Market 2015-2025, que analiza el pasado y presente de este mercado al objeto de anticipar su evolución en los próximos diez años.

Tras su lectura se percibe claramente que el mercado actual presenta una alta segmentación debida a la proliferación de pequeños y medianos OEMs. No obstante, se observa tambien una creciente adquisición de éstos por parte de grandes fabricante de larga trayectoria, al objeto de captar nuevos nichos de mercado ampliando su portfolio de productos.

Tambien se percibe claramente el impacto negativo de los recortes en gastos militares llevado a cabo en todo el mundo, pero más pronunciadamente en Estados Unidos, Alemania, Reino Unido y Francia, países donde los recortes han provocado la cancelación de interesantes proyectos, que ha su vez han tenido un significativo impacto negativo en la evolución del mercado.

En cuanto a previsiones de futuro, el informe permite confiar que el mercado experimente una tasa de crecimiento anual compuesto del 5.66% durante los próximos diez años. Se prevé que Estados Unidos, Canada y Europa van a convertirse en los mayores clientes de UAVs, abarcando más del 60% del mercado mundial.

En cuanto a sus aplicaciones, los autores del informe prevén que la guerra global contra el terrorismo va a provocar el aumento de las ventas de una manera más acusada que lo hagan otras aplicaciones, ya que el previsible aumento de las tensiones en diferentes países conlleva que aumente la necesidad de llevar a cabo misiones ISR mediante UAVs al objeto de anticiparse a los movimientos del enemigo.

Y en cuanto a fabricantes, el informe ofrece interesantes datos acerca de empresas líderes como AAI Corporation, AeroVironment, Alenia Aermacchi, Airbus, BAE Systems, Bluebird Aero Systems, Boeing, Dassault Aviation SA, Denel Dynamics, Elbit Systems Ltd., EMT Ingenieurgesellschaft, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Israel Aerospace Industries, Korea Aerospace Industries, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Sagem, Selex ES, Singapore Technologies Aerospace, y Saab, entre otras.

David del Fresno

Orientación y Asesoría en Impresión 3D y Manufactura Aditiva

http://daviddft.wix.com/david-del-fresno

Airbus seeks European OK

Airbus Defense and Space said it will now work with EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) to develop a certification process for civilian UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) based on the process normally used for manned aircraft.

The application, which Airbus described as the first in Europe, was filed for the company's Atlante UAV, which is intended for a number of civil missions, such as surveillance of oil pipes, power lines and railways, as well as for use during natural disasters.

The Atlante was developed by Airbus in Spain. It weighs nearly 1,257 pounds and has a wingspan of 26 feet. "The launch of the Atlante application will help EASA to secure a world-leading position in the establishment of the appropriate regulatory framework under which such systems will be designed, produced and maintained. And it will enable Airbus Defense and Space to maintain a leading industrial position in this new and challenging civil aviation sector. UAVs represent a rapidly growing activity in commercial aviation that will have a very significant economic impact in the near future," said Miguel Ángel Morell, head of Engineering for Military Aircraft at Airbus Defense and Space.

Textron, Airbus To Bid on Expected French UAV Tender

Airbus Defence & Space has teamed with Textron to prepare a joint bid for an expected French tender for a tactical UAV, a competition likely to attract a lively clutch of international offers, said Senior Vice President Jens Nielsen. (Read more) 

Gran Exito de la I Jornada Técnica de Fabricación Aditiva en el INTA

Organizada por Análisis y Simulación SL se ha celebrado el martes 25 de marzo la I Jornada Técnica de Fabricación Aditiva aplicada a la industria aeroespacial, aeronáutica y militar.

La Jornada se han realizado en la sede del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), situada en Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) y durante la misma se han puesto sobre el tapete múltiples casos de éxito sobre fabricación directa de utillaje aeronáutico, aviones no tripulados y componentes aeronáuticos, mostrando hasta qué punto la Fabricación Aditiva está contribuyendo a reducir los costes económicos y el tiempo empleado para el desarrollo de múltiples productos de fabricantes punteros pertenecientes al sector espacial (NASA), aeronautico (Airbus, Bell Helicopter, Boeing, Custom Control Concepts, Evektor, Kelly Manufacturing Company, Pryer) o militar (Danko Arlington, Lucid Dimensions, EOIR Technologies, Gentex Corporation y RLM Investment Castings).

En lo referente a UAVs, David del Fresno sacó a colación los casos de Leptron, DST Control, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, SelectTech Geospatial, Sheppard Air Force Base (USAF), Survey Copter (Airbus Group) y UAV Solutions. El futuro más inmediato en el campo de los UAVs, concluiría David del Fresno, "pasa también por la impresión directa de los circuitos, ámbito en el que Optomec lleva años trabajando intensamente con Stratasys".