FUTURED. ZAL Magazin 2025

FFT
ATON automated adhesive film application and component integration.
42
AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION –
INTELLIGENT AUTO-
MATION AT EVERY PHASE
Fuselage sections of future aircraft are
versatile regarding aspects like building
principles, materials or system integration.
However, their production will be highly
automated to meet upcoming manufacturing
demands regarding time, cost, quality
and flexibility.
As part of a variety of research projects in the
frame of LuFo, supported by the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action,
FFT together with its partners is developing production
systems for both metal and CFRP fuselage
sections that range from handling of stringers
over precise position of large components
such as doppler sheets or window frames up to
innovative joining of full-scale fuselage sections.
Thereby, in the context of an industrial utilization,
the technologies can be integrated either
into existing (brownfield) or entirely new production
lines (greenfield). The projects can benefit
from FFT’s diverse product portfolio related to
tolerance measurement and optimization (Best-
Fit, VisionView), lightweight grippers and structures
(FibreTec3D, CarbonGripper), component
transport (iGV) or digital process monitoring (FF-
Trace) as well as from FFT’s experience of more
than 50 years in the design and development of
intelligent production systems.