The aerospace industry uses advanced technology in manufacturing, welding, material handling, and other processes to increase efficiency, safety, and throughput. Companies deploy automation in many forms — robotics, conveyance, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), artificial intelligence, and machine learning — to optimize their processes.

Whether you need a solution for drilling, welding, conveyance, or inspecting parts, automation technology can speed up those processes, improve accuracy, and improve repeatability. These are examples of automation applications in the aerospace industry:

• Assembly lines — palletizing, robotics, and work cells
• Dispensing systems for adhesives, bonding, spray coating, and sealing | Dispensing systems for adhesives, bonding, spray coating, and sealing
• Material handling parts across the warehouse
• Drilling, bending, and fastening metal parts

• Aerospace manufacturers are more likely to work with costly materials like superalloys where mistakes are more expensive (more so as sourcing continues to be a challenge) - robots always correctly pair tools with machines and observe the specified feeds and speeds, the result of which is a reduced reject rate. 
• The burden of more stringent certification and compliance requirements on aerospace manufacturers adds to overhead costs - digital solutions for automation can shoulder the burden of data capture and reporting. 
• Errors in accuracy and quality can damage customer relationships that are decades in the making - automation solutions cut down on error rates which keep customers happy and reduce the need to fix costly mistakes. 
• Whether an aerospace manufacturer is directly handling the final assembly of finished aircraft or not, space on the factory floor and in the warehouse is at a premium - automation enables space savings (like better use of vertical space) that help better contain your footprint. 
• Automation can help address the skilled labor gap (which shows no signs of improving soon) by enhancing the capabilities of your existing workforce and performing less skilled tasks so that your most experienced workers are free to focus on more pressing high-level priorities. 

Airplane and turbine engine manufacturers have integrated automation technology into all assembly lines, including material handling, fastening, sealing, welding, inspection, and testing. Airframe manufacturers can deploy automated solutions for each section of the airplane — body, wings, and tail. Automated drilling and filling solutions save time and money by reducing errors and increasing throughput.

The benefits of automation are growing. Automation technologies are flexible and scalable. With aerospace assembly automation, you can adjust to peak seasons or new market changes, keeping the work quality as well as workforce health and safety top of mind.

REDUCED LABOR COSTS

Across several industries, automation has led to a general reduction in labor. The human workforce can focus on oversight, while robotic arms can complete manual, repetitive tasks. Turnover and training employees on new processes can be costly. Not only do automated solutions complete tasks faster, but they are more efficient and accurate.

IMPROVED HEALTH AND SAFETY

In these changing times, worker safety and workplace density have become more challenging. By deploying robotics, our customers have optimized their assembly lines, cells, and warehouses to be more ergonomic — keeping space between their workers while still meeting productivity goals.

IMPROVED QUALITY

Commercial aerospace automation has a high return on investment because of reduced error and scrap rate. Human error and variability lead to wasted resources and high cost per part. With vision and inspection automation, companies can complete inline inspection and traceability.

HIGHER THROUGHPUT

Automated equipment drives higher throughput than relying solely on human workforces. Our customers can increase their use of existing capital equipment, reduce downtime, and increase production efficiency using SCADA control systems. For example, our robotics design for automated nut plate assembly can do what five human workers could do.