Up in arms over robots

As one-armed robots improve in accuracy, gradually expect to see more of them as the pressure grows in aerospace to augment manual labor.

“The hallmark of our industry is highly skilled workers executing complex and specialized processes,” said Curtis Richardson, Associate Technical Fellow for Automation for Spirit AeroSystems, a leading Tier 1 supplier of airframer and structural parts.

The most common automation used today in aerospace are the large, gantry-style fixed, or “hard,” automation systems. These often resemble open-framed CNC machines, sometimes called monument automation. They are accurate and stiff for operations such as drilling and fastening.