Thursday December 7,
12:28 am ET
Zeal is real over 787's
virtual rollout
By
Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
Boeing completed
assembly of its first 787 Wednesday, and all the pieces fit
together marvelously — on computers.
In a display of
the powerful software tools it uses on the new jet program, Boeing
showed digitally generated snippets of the production process to
about 3,000 employees and more than 100 visiting airline
representatives.
The simulation
incorporates accurate digital versions of the plane's myriad
pieces, testing whether the major sections built by partners
around the world will fit when they arrive in the Everett
final-assembly plant.
"We really don't
have time for them not to fit," Mark Jenks, who leads the design
and production of the jet's wings and tail, said in the video
presentation. "When they come together the first time, they have
to fit."
In a briefing,
787 program chief Mike Bair said there will be around 500
machinist jobs initially on those final-assembly lines, rising to
as many as 800 at full production.
He said the
program remains on track to fly the first airplane in August and
make the first delivery in May 2008.
"This is not a
cartoon made up for display, but real digital data," said Bair of
the jet's "virtual rollout."
A huge screen
inside the Everett factory showed a video animation of final
assembly, which includes a partly moving line. Large sections of
the airplane moved into place for assembly on various custom-made
wheeled lifters.
Small trolleys
and light scaffolding moved in and out around the airplane, but
unlike Boeing's current manufacturing procedures, no overhead
cranes lifted pieces and no huge fixed structures held sections in
place.
The images
presented won't win any video-game prizes. The animated machinists
assembling the sections resembled plastic Playmobil figures, and
the big screen showed the airplane structures in low resolution.
Yet the images suggested an impressive level of planning and
control in advance of the first real sections of the airplane
coming together next year.
Executives
expressed confidence the digital simulation of production will
help avoid delays like those that have derailed the Airbus A380,
now two years late because of issues with wiring installation.
Boeing
demonstrated how an earlier simulation showed that an electronics
box made by Hamilton Sundstrand wouldn't fit in the jet's
electrical-equipment bay because a beam was in the way. Engineers
redesigned it so that it fit.
"There should
not be any surprises," said Greg Southern, lead manager of the
final-assembly process. "We're very confident."
Still, even this
smooth digital simulation won't translate into perfection in the
real world.
Kevin Fowler,
vice president in charge of processes and tools, said the virtual
model will not ensure an exact fit for all parts.
Traditionally,
airplane assemblers have
always had to insert little pieces — called shims — to fill the
spaces between parts that don't fit perfectly.
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