Airbus

Company background

Airbus is world-renowned as a global leader and pioneer in the aerospace sector working with a range of industries. Their name is synonymous with cutting-edge technology and excellence in design and manufacturing.

From commercial aircraft to helicopters, military transports to satellites, Airbus’ stated aim is for a ‘better-connected, safer and more prosperous world’. They also provide data services, navigation and secure communications for customers on a global scale. 

How we support Airbus manufacturing and production

For a quarter of a century, we’ve been contracted by Airbus to supply a range of components. They are used in satellites for several purposes and are integral to their operation. These include broadcasting TV, navigation and space programmes. 

Given the sensitive and complex environments in which they must operate, we demand of ourselves that only the highest-quality parts exit our supply chain for delivery to Airbus. 

Maintaining a strict supply chain throughout the manufacturing process guarantees the quality of materials and traceability using only our approved suppliers. 

The components we supply to Airbus include cleats, shields, tybases and electrical connector brackets. Although we are asked to supply some repeat products, the product range is ever changing. This is because the satellites they’re used in are themselves manufactured to exacting specifications, each one slightly different from the next. 

They’re commonly manufactured using exotic aluminiums which are sensitive metals and have totally different properties than the standard, ‘off the shelf’ aluminiums. Accordingly, only technicians with suitable skills and experience should work with them. To maintain material properties, no heat can be transferred into the components such as laser profiling, therefore we must CNC punch every component, and if required, then cold form them to meet extremely tight tolerances (we’re talking individual microns). 

The manufacture of these components for Airbus is demanding, and more often than not, even CNC machinery cannot achieve these tolerances. We therefore require an element of skilled manual work, which can include hours of precision filing, reaming and re-measuring to ensure the final product meets Airbus’ requirements. We once asked the client why such specific tolerances were necessary. Their reply? “We only get one chance to get this into space!”

Once the components have completed the manufacturing stage and have been fully inspected and passed by our quality department, the journey still isn’t over. The process of penetrant flaw detect has to be undertaken. A dye is applied to the surface which will soak into any flaws in the component, and after allowing for this ‘dwell time’, the dye is removed and a developer is then applied. An ultraviolet light is then used to inspect the parts for any defects such as hairline cracks. If any defects are visible, the component will be classed as failed, and it will have to be scrapped. The component will then have to be re-manufactured from scratch and all the processes will have to be carried out again.

This may seem harsh or even overkill, but when extreme forces are applied during missile launch and orbiting, any defect in a component could have catastrophic effects. However, as Alroys has worked with these materials and components for many years, our expertise shows that these failures rarely happen, but with inexperience or unproven methods this could become a common occurrence.