Spirit AeroSystems, Wichita, Kan., announces a new center of excellence focusing on the fabrication of complex aluminum and titanium commercial and military aircraft parts by new five-axis machines.
Spirit, already one of the world’s largest fabricators of aerospace parts, has invested more than $30 million in the five-axis center of excellence in Wichita, which now includes 120 different machine tools.
“We continue to invest in fabrication capabilities, and these expansions will help us better compete globally and remain leaders in the industry,” says Spirit Senior Vice President of Operations Ron Rabe. “The new center offers significant capabilities to meet our current and future customer needs with better quality and improved turn time.”
The facility will utilize the latest high-speed technology to specialize in large, complex parts for fuselage, pylon, and wing structures. The center will be fully operational later this year.
“We also have capacity and capability to support chemical processing and finishing of machined parts,” says Alan Young, Spirit’s vice president of Fabrication. “We have developed significant capability over many decades, and now we can provide that expertise to customers around the world.”
Chemical processing of component parts completes the manufacturing process and ensures proper coating on part surfaces to protect against corrosion. Chemical processes at Spirit include cleaning, penetrant inspection, anodizing, priming, and top-coat painting, with various colors available to support customer requirements. With one of the world’s largest automated chemical processing lines, Spirit has already processed parts for other customers this year in Wichita.
Spirit’s fabrication capability spans more than 2.6 million square feet and produces more than 38,000 parts daily.
The new capabilities and emphasis on the fabrication business is one of Spirit’s growth strategies as the company focuses on new business.
