Model Airplanes

The next industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) will be led by cyber-physical systems (CPS) integrating computation, networking, and manual processes. To this end, factories will rely more an more on collaboration between human employees and robots.

In a recent interview Sören Papsdorf, Head of Manufacturing Engineering at KUKA, said that he believed human-robot collaboration is “the future of robotics.” Across industry, robotic systems are used as aids for everything from part inspection and assembly, to machine management and the free-form construction of houses or metal parts.

In an experiment led by Cornell University, New York, researchers have developed a system laying the foundation for human-robot collaborative design titled RoMA: Robotic Modeling Assistant.

Drawing with air

RoMA is controlled by a designer using an augmented reality (AR) headset. Thanks to a Rhino plugin, the AR headset has in-built 3D modeling capabilities, that allows a user to create a digital design from primitive shapes, i.e. cylinders and spheres. The user virtually builds this model on a turntable in front of them. As the design is made, it is fed to a robotic arm that 3D prints the object as a basic wire-frame outline.

Interactive design

Though the results are fairly rudimentary, the system presents a number of intuitive features that could be vital for future AR design.

Through calibration, a designer’s fingertip can be used to virtually draw and pull new features of a 3D model such

Article source: https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/cornell-presents-foundations-collaborative-human-robot-3d-printing-129012/

February 15, 2018

The S-400 is proving to be lucrative for Russia’s defense manufacturing sector, and popular with its global clients. Turkey, for example, has yet to receive the batch of Russian-made S-400 purchase…

Article source: https://caspiannews.com/news-detail/iran-plans-to-purchase-more-russian-medium-haul-passenger-planes-2018-2-14-41/

So much goes into the development of a commercial aircraft—billions of dollars, millions of work hours, rivers of sweat—that when a new model is finished, the designers like to throw a party. At Boeing Co.’s rollout of the 777 in April 1994, an event orchestrated by Dick Clark Productions, music swelled while the slogan “Working Together” appeared on a 285-foot screen before thousands of employees gathered at the doors of a massive hangar in Everett, Wash. The phrase was the organizing principle of Boeing’s engineering team and even the name of the first airplane, painted in cursive under the cockpit window. “Because we realized,” a narrator intoned, “that only by working together as a team—with our customers, our suppliers, and each other—would we build a truly great airplane.” Boeing extended its embrace of globalism with its next airplane, the 787 Dreamliner, introduced in 2011, relying on a far-flung network of suppliers that not only built but also designed many of the parts.

These days, the spirit of togetherness goes only so far. Under Dennis Muilenburg, who took over as chief executive officer in 2015, Boeing has turned unapologetically hard-nosed. Even amid the greatest sales boom in aviation history, he’s insisting suppliers cut prices—while he angles to take over their most lucrative repair and maintenance work. This cost initiative is called Partnering for Success; some of its targets call it Pilfering from Suppliers.

Muilenburg drew yet more backlash by pressing a dumping claim last year against Bombardier Inc., a much

Article source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-02-14/boeing-is-killing-it-by-squeezing-its-suppliers

Last month, we asked business aviation CEOs to give their reports on how’s business. In this follow-up, the Bizav leaders highlight key trends impacting private aviation. From apps and mobile bookings to new aircraft type, used aircraft sales, wealth creation, new tax rules, pilot shortages, new types of membership programs, jet cards, fractional ownership, the environment and even freight, we look at what’s happening now and what’s on the horizon.

National Business Aviation Association CEO Ed Bolen: “There was ownership, then chartering, then fractional, then jet cards, and now subscriptions that build on different ways to access the opportunity for a company to find the right way to access business aviation.”

Peter Maestrales, CEO, Airstream Jets

“While Business Aviation Industry continues to enjoy a growing market, the longer term picture remains unclear.  Well known issues such as the pilot shortage, collapse in values of used jets, lack of OEM innovation, rising operational costs, and a declining talent pool for flight departments have caused the industry to underachieve relative to its potential.  As a result, the overall environment is ripe for innovation.

“The OEM issue, in particular, is concerning because if any significant innovation is going to occur it will need to start with the manufacturers.  However, we are just not seeing much leadership in this area as innovation seems to have come to a standstill.  The major players seem to be more focused on short-term sales objectives, defense contracts and share price. As a result, advancements have largely been limited to the cabin

Article source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/douggollan/2018/02/14/the-hottest-private-aviation-trends-from-new-aircraft-to-new-ways-to-access-private-jets/