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GKN Aerospace has said it has slashed the cost of producing winglets for aircraft wings by 20% after a two year project to introduce the latest technologies into their manufacturing processes.
Winglets are vertical extensions at the end of fixed wings that reduce an aircraft's drag, fuel burn and noise footprint and increase its rate of climb. The Stem Winglet project has aimed to improve the design of Winglets while simultaneously devising processes to reduce production time and improve quality.
The winglet’s lower skin is made from carbon fibre using the latest automated fibre placement (AFP) technology. The design includes a waffle skin construction and it has been manufactured and assembled using robotic technologies and lightweight fixing techniques. The result is a winglet with lower weight, lower parts count, 50% fewer fasteners and 25% less time per fastening, suitable for retrofitting.
The development process also employed software tools and a development process that will be used in future production programmes, GKN said.
Rich Oldfield, Technology Director, GKN Aerospace explains: “We believe many of the processes progressed and proved through this STeM programme will be introduced across the aerospace sector to speed and improve the manufacture of a wide range of items such as engine components, nacelles, small wing box structures, vertical and horizontal tail planes, flying controls and undercarriage doors.”
The winglets are part of a £12 million government-funded Structures Technology Maturity (Stem) project, that includes collaborative projects with Bombardier, Spirit and GE.
Among the processes being progressed through the project are: lightweight fixturing, reconfigurable tooling, automated part positioning, assisted deposition of sealant, metrology assisted robotics, lightweight drilling heads, light-weight fastening heads for single sided fasteners, automated scanning for accurate countersink drilling and automated fastener inspection.