Have you ever wondered about how fighter jets are built? The manufacturing of the aircraft fuselages might seem like a straightforward job, right? But in reality; the process is quite complicated. The featured video in this post comes from Northrop Grumman.
This video by Northrop Grumman will explain how the company relies on high-end technology for helping its workers to produce the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s centre fuselage speedily. The process involves using advanced materials, including carbon fiber, composites, and exotic metals that are utilized in various kind of joining processes.
Northrop Grumman didn’t compete to build the Joint Strike Fighter, but it does play a big part. The company made an announcement back in February claiming that it had built 500 fuselages for the Joint Strike Fighter. Northrop Grumman said that it made use of ‘robotics, autonomous systems, virtual 3D and predictive automation’ during the manufacturing process.
The video at the end of this post will help you learn more about the manufacturing process. In the video, you can see the employees of Northrop Grumman working while wearing white jumpsuits and climbing all over the fuselage assemblies. You will also see a worker who appears to be painting using a paintbrush while holding a clear bottle. She’s not actually painting though; she is brushing adhesives.
The most interesting part of the manufacturing process is the system of projectors that are used to assist workers. The projectors are mounted on the assembly room ceiling — the projectors overlay information for the workers directly onto the fuselage itself. The information includes where the fasteners will be installed, the order in which the work is to proceed, and where certain tools must not be used. This means that the workers don’t have to stare at a set of instructions and can simply focus on the workspace where the instructions are being displayed directly.
The projectors are connected to the workstations where the supervising engineers are controlling the instruction sets. This allows the company to make adjustments to the instructions within a matter of seconds. Check out the video below and let us know what you think of it!