Eng2Mfg

A very nice 2.5 minute time-lapse video that shows the assembly of a Boeing 737 for Southwest Airlines

737 Assembly

The annual SAE AeroTech Conference (sponsored by Boeing) was held in Seattle, Washington last week.  This is an annual event where all of the major aerospace companies get together to review the latest technology as well as to update industry standards.  There were three days of technical sessions covering topics ranging from the new standards for safety management systems to new design & manufacturing methods.

I attended a presentation from a Boeing engineer talking about lean/cellular manufacturing.  While his presentation was informative, I was a little taken aback because these lean principles are techniques that many companies implemented over 10 years ago (perhaps someone should have been talking about 787 supply chain management).

You may not be a fan of the Science Channel, but a great series that has helped to bring manufacturing to the masses is How It’s Made.

The 30-minute shows typically depict how three different common products are manufactured, using videos and narration.

An interesting article in Desktop Engineering about Design for Manufacturing.  A DFM approach that leverages a knowledge engine and mechatronics as a means for getting manufacturing companies to adopt laser-sintering manufacturing.

For those of you wanting to understand how steel is made, this is a nice summary animated GIF.

I’ve noticed that the Society of Manufacturing Engineers has posted a series of short videos on YouTube about various manufacturing processes.  This is a great source of useful information.   The topic below happens to cover the fabrication of composites: