Premium Aerotec, an Airbus Group company, relies on machine tools from MCM with ATU 2000 Peiseler tables for the production of structural components for various aircraft programs. They are capable of moving transport loads weighing up to 50 tons with high precision in a matter of seconds.

Stability due to clamping cube

Even if the aircraft parts to be manufactured are significantly lighter, the tables of the sub-assembly manufacturer have to cope with a high weight. This is because the components are first mounted on a large steel clamping cube and a fixture attached to it in order to manufacture the landing gear mountings that are later attached to the wing spar. This ensures a high level of stability during the subsequent milling of the final contour. "The entire structure of the pallet with the clamping cube and the parts to be manufactured can weigh up to 28 tons and must be brought into the required machining position with an accuracy of five hundredths," explains Christian Mäusle, tool technologist in the bulk machining department at Premium Aerotec.

The Peiseler rotary table ATU 2000 is a central component in the MCM machine tool from Premium Aerotec in Augsburg. (Image: MCM)

As his company has been manufacturing the suspensions for the main landing gear from titanium for several years, considerable forces are required during milling. "Not every manufacturer can design machine tools for such loads," emphasizes Mäusle. "The requirements were correspondingly complex," reports Roberto Rebecchi, Service Manager at MCM Germany. "We had to achieve a very high load capacity, maximum precision, high torque and a very advanced clamping system."

The long-standing partner Peiseler was already involved in the design of the machine. "For us, there was no alternative to their rotary table with these excellent properties," emphasizes Rebecchi. For machining the highly complex titanium components in the Airbus A350 and A380 programs, "the Peiseler rotary tables are ideally suited as an important component of the MCM machines," adds Natascha Gürtner, Project Manager Machine and Plant Investment at Premium Aerotec.

Production process optimized

For Dr. Benedict Korischem, Managing Director of Peiseler, such customer confirmations are proof that a technological edge leads to market advantages: "We have developed dividing units that run twice as fast and can process 30 to 40 percent more weight than those of our competitors." In particular, Peiseler has achieved unparalleled precision through consistent further development. To achieve this level, the Remscheid-based company has optimized its entire production process.