• Engine-Technology   “The initiative came from Boeing”

“The initiative came from Boeing”

Atlas Copco Tools is moving into automated drilling – and setting its sights on the aviation industry. The PFD drill feed unit will be the first product. Managing Director Volker Wiens talk to aerotec about the technical background and market goals of this world premiere.

Mr. Wiens, for the first time in quite a while, Atlas Copco Tools is now putting something really new on the market in the field of drilling for the aviation industry. How did the development of the PFD 1500 come about?

In the aviation industry there is huge demand for precisely drilled holes. Here we are talking about drill holes with tolerances in the hundredth range. Hand-held drilling is also become increasingly rare in the aviation industry, while automated drilling is becoming more and more widespread. This is where our automatic drill feed unit PDF 1500 comes into play.

What is special about this new drill unit?

What is truly revolutionary about the PFD 1500 is its modular structure. The user can exchange individual drives and feed units for differently designed components with just eight screws in less than ten minutes. So with a single unit you can cover a wide range of different rotational speeds and feed rates. Users do not have to have so many devices at hand and flexibility in production is drastically increased. Fast, simple refitting means a vast reduction in set-up and maintenance times; at the same time we are able to maximize service times.

This is a real innovation in aircraft construction …

Yes, the development of the drill unit essentially came from scratch. The concept is completely new and nowhere else to be found on the market.

To what extent was your target group for the PFD 1500, the aviation industry, involved in its development?

The initiative for development came from Boeing. Up until now, the situation on the market in the area of automated drilling was essentially a monopoly. Boeing wanted an alternative and approached Atlas Copco Tools about it. And the idea of developing a completely new product with an aircraft manufacturer perfectly matched our strategy of moving more into growth sectors. And the aviation industry certainly falls into this category as far as we are concerned.

Will Airbus be using the PFD 1500 too?

Yes, machines are already being tested. We are expecting to get the production release from Airbus within the next few months. At the moment, Boeing is using several PFD 1500 on various production lines.

And how many of the new drill feed units do you intend to sell worldwide after the official launch this April?

The sales figure for 2011 is certainly expected to be a triple-digit one, and we think it will increase significantly in the years to come.

Let’s go back to the technical details of your newly developed product. What are the specific features of the PFD 1500?

Our machine is lighter and more powerful than competitor machines. An effective control mechanism ensures that the rotational speed does not decrease so sharply; this benefit is most clearly felt under load. This means we can maintain the optimum cutting speed under load, too – which will definitely increase productivity and drilling quality. According to our measurements, these machines are at least 15% more productive than what is currently available on the market. They also have a longer service life and allow smaller tolerances. The unit allows holes to be drilled with a diameter of between 8 and 35 millimeters. The combination of very low tolerances and large drill hole diameters predestines the PFD 1500 for use in the aviation industry. Another special feature of this automatic drill feed unit is the quick “withdraw” function. This is automatically started after the end of the process. The “quick feed” function allows the drill to be guided more quickly into the correct position without going into full power. Drilling does not start until the machine is directly in front of the surface to be drilled. This function allows the drill to be moved more quickly at the beginning and it also saves compressed air.

What is more, we have fully encapsulated the individual, replaceable parts in the unit. This means that when the machine is refitted there is no soiling, which in turn saves on maintenance costs. A built-in overload protection device prevents destruction of the entire drive unit.

You mention compressed air: did you ever consider giving the PDF 1500 an electrical drive?

We did of course give consideration to whether we should use a pneumatic or an electrical drive. But the benefits of the pneumatic solution predominate in the applications for the aviation industry which we defined. The PFD 1500 drill feed unit weighs less than six kilograms – without a control unit which would be required for electrical drive. The machine would simply have been too heavy for a production mechanic to hold.

You have to realize that the sector prefers battery-operated tools if they are electrically powered. But there is currently no battery-based drilling technology which meets the high demands of the aviation industry. The power, size and durability of the batteries are still not sufficient. Performance capacity, i.e. how many holes I can drill with one battery charge, is not adequate. So compressed air is far from dead here!

Interview conducted by Annika Mentgen

German Summary

Atlas Copco Tools steigt ins automatisierte Bohren ein – Zielgruppe Luftfahrtindustrie. Auftakt bildet die Bohrvorschubeinheit PFD 1500. Geschäftsführer Volker Wiens erläutert aerotec technische Hintergründe und Marktziele dieser Weltneuheit. Der deutschsprachige Beitrag ist nachzulesen auf: www.aerotec-online.com/aero0211wien

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