The future of aircraft manufacturing

Engineers from Vought Aircraft offer insight into the challenges, trends, and techniques that aerospace manufacturers will have to consider for maintaining a viable manufacturing environment.

Increased consolidation, fewer starts of new programs, and the transition to a global supply chain are just a few things mentioned by Casey Litaker and Dan Devitt of Vought Aircraft when asked how aircraft manufacturing has changed over the last decade. Litaker, the Chief Engineer of Boeing Commercial at Vought, says that the continuous consolidation of the industry is creating greater competition, which in turn is driving aerospace firms toward manufacturing cultures composed of lean manufacturing, the digital factory, reconfigurable tooling, and determinant assembly. Devitt, the Manager of Technologies at Vought, adds that fewer program starts have changed the role of many aerospace manufacturers, including that of Vought's.

Cost reduction has been a key driver in the aerospace industry recently. It is forcing many designers and manufacturers to reduce parts counts by developing more integrated systems and more monolithic parts.