Robotics carbon-fibre-reinforced composite. Drilling aircraft parts The Kuka KR 150-2 robot, equipped with a Hydro-Control Steuerungstechnik GmbH control system, is used to drill and then install fasteners in carbon-fibre or aluminium aircraft components. The robot drills using a specific drilling geometry – one that is impossible to use manually with such high precision – so that the chips will fall outwards. Any waste material that does threaten to fall inside the component is sucked out by vacuum. The rpm and drilling speed can also be precisely set as a function of the specific material. As a supplier to the aircraft industry, Stork Fokker places top priority on safety and quality. The high-precision components the company offers its customers have been drilled and fastened by a Kuka robot. Stork Fokker uses the Kuka robot in the production of components for aircraft like the NH 90 helicopter, the Dassault Falcon 7X business jet and the Gulfstream G550. Some of these components differ vastly from one another in terms of shape and materials used. This was another factor in favour of the Kuka robot at Stork Fokker, since the robotic cell can be used flexibly at any time. It is currently used to manufacture about eight different parts. More information: www.kuka.fr No47 March-April 2009 / jec composites magazine 47http://www.kuka.fr http://www.dieffenbacher.com/ http://www.tiodize.com/ http://www.dieffenbacher.com/ http://www.tiodize.com/