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I finally got to see the new composite repair bay at the Everett facility
They had a whole section set up for automated fiber placement, but the techs were still doing most of the layup by hand in the next bay. It felt like a lot of money spent on a machine that doesn't really fit how we fix things day to day. Am I wrong for thinking this kind of tech is getting pushed too hard over good old hand skills?
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jessefoster6mo ago
My old shop in Wichita got a fancy waterjet cutter that mostly gathered dust. The guys just kept using the old manual bandsaws for quick repairs. Sometimes the simple tool that people know how to use is the right one for the job.
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janawells7mo ago
The Boeing 777X wing skins need that AFP precision, you can't hand lay that. The techs will adapt to the new tools.
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alexj997mo ago
Totally get what you're saying. Saw a demo of an AFP machine once and the repeatability was just insane, like to a fraction of a millimeter. Trying to do that by hand on a part that big would be a nightmare, you'd have so much waste. The techs might grumble at first about the new process, but the results speak for themselves.
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