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Technical Services

Technical Services

A new assembly plant has been put into service for the Calidus program, addressing the production needs of the new work package.

During 2023, Technical Services has focused on improving all areas, from energy efficiency to process digitalization to increased safety and the provision of new capacities at production centers, etc.

One of the most relevant milestones has been commissioning a new assembly plant for the Calidus program. This plant will meet the production needs of the latest work package and ensure the well-being of the people in that work center.

Regarding the engine business line, the Ircio plant's production capacity has been increased by installing two new five-axis multitasking machining centers from Hermle, the German manufacturer. One of them, model C42, allows the production of parts up to 800 mm in diameter; the other, model C62, allows parts up to 1200 mm in diameter.

At the Ircio plant, in addition to the above-mentioned machining centers, a retrofit for the respective loading tables has been developed and integrated into the four existing Hermle C62 machining centers. This retrofit enables the positioning and adjustment of workpieces on tooling outside the machining box. This retrofit guarantees a positioning accuracy of less than one and a half hundredths of a cent and has enabled more than 560 hours per year to be freed up for machining.

At the composite components manufacturing plant in Aerópolis (Seville), the implementation of the automation of overhead crane movements in the assembly area of the HTP A320 has been completed. This means that the operator handling the parts with the overhead crane only has to press the station where the part should go, and the system automatically manages the transfer of the part to the indicated station.

In addition, new capabilities for product quality control have been implemented with the installation and commissioning of a sealing tank and a metrology room with a three-dimensional CMM measuring machine, a measuring arm and a laser tracker.

A new assembly plant has been put into service for the Calidus program, addressing the production needs of the new work package.

In Boecillo, as part of Safran's duct project, two new presses and an injection molding machine have been installed, as well as the rest of the production equipment required to manufacture the ducts, including pre-forming and post-curing ovens and a cold press for closing the molds prior to the curing process.

This investment, to be completed in the first quarter of 2024 with additional equipment, will make it possible to meet the new committed delivery rate. The project was completed with the infrastructure and commissioning of a new three-dimensional verification equipment set up for this project.

Also, in Boecillo, the Lilium project required a major adaptation of the existing facilities to meet the project's first deliveries. In addition to the foundations required for the integration stand, to create the required production environment, the shipping building has been partitioned and equipped with a specific overhead crane for handling the different elements of this program.

As part of the search for process improvement, several projects have been undertaken, including the development of a drilling and countersinking machine for the subsequent installation of rivetable nuts in Vitoria, the compatibility of cutting tool management with automatic machining at the CMI grinding machine, the automation of the overhead crane at Tecnobahía, the expansion of the cutting tool management capacity at the TorresMill grinding machine in Seville, and the improvement in the cooling capacity of the autoclaves in Seville, by installing a new cooling tower and piping network.

One of the most relevant improvement projects has been the development of a finishing cell for the A320 TIP fairings.

Special mention should be made regarding updating industrial resources and facilities due to obsolescence, with decades-old technology: Lectras pattern cutting machines, autoclaves in Seville; Bermaq grinding machine and steam boiler in Vitoria.

In terms of safety, among other projects, a new network of fire hydrants has been installed at the La Rinconada plant in Seville, consisting of new tanks, pumping units, piping and hydrants. In terms of health, the air conditioning systems in the logistics warehouse have been installed and renovated.

The changing rooms at the Mairena production center have been upgraded and replaced with better-equipped, more spacious ones.

Furthermore, several initiatives have been implemented to promote energy efficiency (see “Energy consumption” above).

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