Maximizing the Benefits of Flexible Tooling in Your Production Line 972255

The trend to become more agile and obtain world class levels of production performance is prompting aerospace manufacturers around the world to closely analyze their manufacturing processes and expend considerable effort to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve product quality. Tooling is one of the key factors being focused on to improve manufacturing agility. Since anywhere from 20% to 75% of the costs of an aircraft program can be attributed to tooling, it is apparent that incorporating flexible tooling systems into the manufacturing process should be a major industry objective. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate that there are a variety of applications in which flexible tooling technology can be utilized, and that significant, tangible benefits can be realized by implementing this technology.