This will make GKN Fokker the launch customer for the high-tech automated ply sorting solution. It will support GKN Fokker’s ambition to reduce cost and increase output by implementing automation.
Airborne’s automated kitting solution reduces costs by saving on man-hours and material scrap, and it enables a flexible and digital workflow. The translation from nesting files to machine controls and sorting optimisation is fully automated by Airborne’s proprietary algorithms and works on-the-fly. At any moment the production manager can change the nesting, and the systems will follow. No programming is needed. The automated kitting solution also ensures full digital tracking of the sorting and eliminates any mistakes.
The system is to be installed at GKN Fokker’s facility in Papendrecht by mid-2019 and it will be implemented in a phased approach. Airborne will first implement the stand-alone sorting system in which the system can automatically detect any random ply given to the system by the operator using advanced vision technology. In a second phase, automated ply picking from the nest will be added.
“GKN Fokker is a most valued customer for years and we are proud for the confidence shown in our company to implement their first automated ply sorting system,” said Arno van Mourik, CEO of Airborne. “GKN Fokker’s will significantly lower their manufacturing costs and improve their time-to-market. Also, our Automated Kitting solution provides the opportunity to implement the concept of dynamic nesting. This enables GKN Fokker to use a much higher mix in the nesting which can be adapted on-the-fly. Because this will decrease the amount of material waste, costs will be reduced even further.”
Airborne’s automated kitting solution is designed to pick, place and sort cut composite plies efficiently via a robotised platform. Traditionally, operators manually pick the cut composite plies from the cutting table and manually sorts them in the right order to create a sorted stack of plies. The Automated Kitting solution does this fully automated and digital, drastically reducing the non-added value operational costs. Airborne developed the Automated Kitting solution in-house.
The Automated Kitting solution is one of the building blocks in the automation and digitalisation strategy of Airborne. Other building blocks are Automated Honeycomb Potting and the Automated Laminating Cell, both introduced during JEC World 2018.
