Magellan Aerosystem commits to Airborne automated kitting system

Global aerospace company Magellan Aerospace Corp. (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) has ordered and plans to integrate an automated kitting solution from automation and digital manufacturing specialist Airborne (The Hague, Netherlands). The solution, tailored to Magellan’s requirements to enable flexible use, will also meet its goal to reduce material waste and increase productivity and repeatability. Its delivery to the company’s facility in Winnipeg, Canada, marks Airborne’s expansion into the North American market.

According to Airborne, the automated kitting solution increases cutting and kitting productivity by increasing capacity, reducing the amount of manual labor and minimizing material scrap. Airborne says it also enables a flexible and digital workflow, as the translation from nesting files to machine controls and sorting optimization is fully automated, with no programming required. Airborne notes the system also ensures full digital tracking of the sorting and sequencing process, thus eliminating kitting mistakes.

 “Working with Airborne’s team to select and customize the automated cloth cutter and kitting solution for Magellan’s Advanced Composite Manufacturing Center was ideal,” says Jeff Pastula, director, business procurement and IT at Magellan Aerospace. “Their understanding of the requirements for our program allowed us to find an innovative solution that we are looking forward to adopting into our process.”

The automated kitting solution is scheduled to be installed at Magellan Aerospace’s Winnipeg facility in early 2021. The kitting solution will be used to support efficient and cost-effective manufacturing of composite horizontal tail assemblies for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft.