Aritex has been closely linked to the aeronautical sector for over twenty years. Our collaboration with Airbus, the leading aircraft manufacturing company, commenced in 2002 with the launch of the programme to develop the A380 — the largest airliner in the world —, and opened the way to a close relationship with the aviation industry that has continued to the present day. After the Airbus project, Aritex went on to acquire a global presence in the market, and its strong track record has enabled it to offer personalised solutions adapted to each client’s needs in a sector where precision, stringent requirements and ultra-high quality are the order of the day.
From local company to global participant
From 2008 to 2012, Aritex participated in international projects as an integrator and started to collaborate with leading Chinese aircraft manufacturer, COMAC, another major milestone in the company’s process of international expansion in the aeronautical industry. The next move was expanding international operations from Asia to Latin America with Embraer in Brazil in 2013 with the development of the E2 aircraft, a model that stands out for its agility in flight control, safety and comfort.
Our track record in the sector speaks for itself: high precision tool design, innovative land and air transport systems, complex assembly lines and the development of automated drilling and riveting processes. One of our specialisations throughout our collaboration with the industry is highly automated drilling systems and the integration of complex assembly lines.
Unlike the automotive industry, where processes are standardised and clearly defined, every single project in the aeronautical industry is unique, and so companies constantly seek new and innovative ideas. When facing such challenges, Aritex works with the belief that there is space to explore behind every limit.
One important feature in the aeronautical industry is that moving every piece is a colossal task, and so our team of engineers create tailor-made transport systems that guarantee safety and quality when transporting large and fragile elements such as the structural parts of a plane. We have designed innovative mobility solutions that are essential when working on projects of this size inside hangars.
Turnkey projects
Developing a project for a new assembly line involves a complex network of suppliers that provide their own technology to produce a unique industrial system for assembling aircraft structures. Establishing management processes, defining strategy, planning and interconnections between each technology are just some of the things that Aritex does as an integrator. Playing the role of a unique interlocutor for the client enables us to minimise risks, simplify integration processes and prevent losses caused by a lack of coordination in processes or between different departments in large OEMs.
The total focus on turnkey projects in this sector began with the A350 project for Airbus in 2008. A strategy arose from the need to establish a unique interlocutor for the client, one who could closely collaborate with major suppliers and prevent losses caused by poorly aligned processes.
This position as interlocutor and project leader has provided Aritex with a proven capacity to adapt and further strengthen resilience. Learning, collaboration and knowing how to work together to meet a shared objective are key factors when facing technological challenges. That’s why every challenge is also an opportunity to be at the forefront of the industry and to acquire in-depth know-how in such a specialised field. Essential skills for effectively responding to the specific needs of the sector.
Greater efficiency in processes
Automation in the aeronautical industry brings major benefits: it improves efficiency, quality and adaptability. Automated systems such as robots go beyond human limitations and carry out repetitive tasks quickly and precisely. What’s more, the dependable response of automatic robots guarantees very high-quality standards and increases efficiency, while also offering a competitive edge in a constantly changing industry.
However, automation in the aeronautical sector faces certain limitations caused by the characteristics of the product to be assembled, and by difficulties in finding repetitive processes that can be globally applied. This forces companies to seek unique technological developments and find new automated processes that respect the stringent quality requirements that are common in the sector. Despite these difficulties, we at Aritex are firm believers in the benefits of automation, with a practical, common-sense approach that always offers real added value to each project.
From our offices in Spain, France, Brazil, the USA, and China, Aritex works on projects with a global team mindset, where individual contributions generate value and add something special to the successful outcome of the project. This approach is essential for effective and flexible management in a highly demanding market like aeronautics. Aritex’s role as an international project mediator entails knowing how to ensure that products and processes are consistent, guaranteeing that teams in different locations work cohesively to achieve the uniformity and efficiency that projects require.
Optimising efficiency and controlling costs
Reducing operational costs is a major concern for this industry. But so is knowing how to work more safely, with fewer risks and with simpler processes. Two examples of how this can be done successfully are the projects for Airbus Cadiz and Airbus Hamburg.
Aritex took on the challenge of efficiently and cheaply resuming manufacture of a product at the Cadiz plant, in southern Spain. With a limited investment, an automated assembly line designed to reduce operational costs was implemented. From the onset of this project, a cross-functional Airbus-Aritex team applied a simultaneous industrialisation engineering approach, which proved to be crucial for simplifying the line and balancing out automation and costs. This project enabled the teams to increase production capacity and reduce recurring assembly costs, which is just what they were looking for.
In Germany, Aritex faced the challenge of developing a machine that could automatically drill and rivet for a process that had been carried out manually. Some highly rigorous development work enabled the team to implement a machine that took on the process from start to finish (technically called One Way Assembly); a unique capacity that set a precedent in the industry.
Future challenges
What the major international aircraft manufacturers (OEMs) are seeking right now are more efficient processes that enable them to increase their production capacities and respond to increased demand, without any of this having a negative impact on quality. They need more flexible and mobile solutions, and more compact robots. This makes us think that what the future may need are simplified platforms or smaller, more mobile solutions that can carry out simplified and standardised processes that are massively used throughout assembly.
The newest trends in digitalisation seen in structural assembly industrialisation processes are also incorporated, with the same aim of ensuring quality and safety, along with the guarantee of more stable production thanks to a reduced output of non-conformities.
Aritex responds to these trends by offering more flexible solutions in specialised robotics for aircraft assembly processes that incorporate more mobility and reduced machine size. This focus facilitates integration and anticipates market needs.
To further boost efficiency, Aritex applies innovative solutions to digitalisation such as connected tools, sensorised machines and augmented reality devices that guide the operator through assembly jobs and can simultaneously run process quality controls.
One thing that has always been an important part of Aritex is industrial software development for assembly processes: we offer products within the framework of our solutions such as atxVISION, atxPIK and atxHMI.
Aritex’s philosophy is to provide value and experience, facing up to and solving complex challenges, with a very sharp eye for all the details and constantly seeking concepts that can take on and break through the most demanding technological barriers. Ideas that enable us to think up specialised solutions that push the envelope of the aeronautical industry.
Interested in starting a project for the aeronautical sector? Get in touch and we’ll show how to make it all possible.