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Construction of the F-35 Lightning II prototypes had hit a snag. Small-statured workers were having to squeeze into inlet ducts to drill hundreds of holes by hand to prepare ducts for attachment to the airframe. Not only was the inside-out drilling process unsustainable for workers, but in ultra-high-performance aircraft like the F-35, holes must be extremely consistent and precise.
Northrop Grumman, a principle member of the F-35 industry team, took the challenge to the automotive sector, and in 2007, Michigan-based Variation Reduction Solutions, Inc. (VRSI) won a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to find solutions. Three short years later, Northrop Grumman integrated the game-changing Inlet Duct Robotic Drilling (IDRD) cell into their F-35 Integrated Assembly Line, calling it the “crown jewel” of their production line.
The VRSI-led IDRD technology is just one of many successful innovations enabled by the US Air Force’s SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. For more information, visit afsbirsttr.com.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 10.10.2017 15:10 |
| Category: | Package |
| Video ID: | 556173 |
| VIRIN: | 170406-F-OU855-1000 |
| Filename: | DOD_104929266 |
| Length: | 00:04:20 |
| Location: | WPAFB, OH, US |
| Downloads: | 114 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 114 |
This work, Drilling Down To Success, by Dennis L Stewart, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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