My favourite part of a flight is undoubtedly the takeoff. It is exciting and the feeling never gets old. As a plane charges down the runway like a bull and eventually lifts off like a graceful swan, there is no better time to sit up and admire the engineering marvel that goes behind the manufacture of a modern aircraft.

It may be tempting to give all the credit to aircraft manufacturers but it is worth pointing out that behind them stands a network of partners whose role cannot be slighted in any way. Just to give you an example, there are three million parts in a Boeing 777, according to the manufacturer and they are provided by 500 suppliers from around the world.

As you can imagine, there is a significant amount of metalworking deployed here. If Boeing’s latest projection of aircraft demand is to be realised, the amount of metalworking looks set to increase and this is no doubt a tremendous opportunity as well as challenge for all in the metalworking industry.

Commitment To The Cause

“I had the privilege of visiting Boeing’s headquarters and the projection for airplanes they showed us through the year 2030 is astounding. It is some 15,000 plus airplanes coming out of Boeing,” said Bo Shomaker, Coromant manager, Sandvik Coromant (Southeast Asia), in an exclusive interview with APMEN. He was quick to point out that the figure is only from one aircraft manufacturer and others are likely to have similar projections. When engines are added into the mix, the potential of the aerospace industry is enough to turn the heads of certain governments.

Singapore is one good example. A government-led master plan has slowly established the country as a respectable MRO hub in the region and he said it is in Southeast Asia’s aerospace segment where his company shines.

“Our long term objective is to be the aerospace industry leader. Not only in Singapore but globally. If we can win in the aerospace segment, we can win in just about any industry as it is a demanding industry. Globally, we have a huge network of people dedicated to aerospace. We have three aerospace application centres in Japan, the UK and the US doing nothing but aerospace-related business,” he said.

The same dedication towards the industry can also be found in Singapore. He told APMEN that they too have dedicated resources specifically for aerospace in Singapore.

“We have people dedicated to the customers themselves and people dedicated to the industry itself. In other words, they are industry specialists. They are good at solving problems in different types of materials and application situations,” he said.

Even though the team is working well, Mr Shomaker told APMEN that he is planning to expand it.

“Right now, we have maybe three people dedicated to the aerospace industry but as we grow with the industry, we are definitely adding resources. We can see that happening and I have started to budget for it,” he said.

‘Air-Worthy’ Products

CoroCut 90 and 45 deg, also known as the ‘hockey stick’.

Singapore’s MRO industry is still relatively new according to Mr Shomaker and he feels the industry can benefit as a whole if they embrace the leading edge of technology, even though some of the aircraft in service today can be up to 20 years old. The reason is simple, ie: the aircraft manufacturers have moved with the times and have gone on to design and build modern aircraft that have very different needs.

“A lot of OEMs have to make investments in new machines. The only advice (I can give here) is to use the capability of those machines and the latest and greatest technology in cutting tools, coolant and programming techniques such as the trochoidal method. In my opinion, we simply can’t afford to do things the old way to meet the demands of today. We have to think differently,” he said.

Some of the technologies essential for today’s aerospace industry can be found in his company’s product range, which incidentally, expands by 2,500 items every year due to the company’s R&D efforts. Specifically for the aerospace industry, there are angled inserts and ball nose end mills for the machining of engine parts and other tools for hole making, trimming and surface machining for the fabrication of aerospace frame.

“We have products for milling, turning and drilling, all specifically designed for the aerospace industry. We introduce 2,500 new products per year and a very large percentage can be used and are used on aerospace components somewhere in the world,” he said.

Dedication in the area can once again be seen as he told APMEN that there is an R&D team specialising in the aerospace industry. According to him, the team also works closely with the machine tool builders. Judging from the sheer number of products rolling off the company’s product conveyor belt, it looks as though their efforts have paid off.

For instance, he said that the Coromant Capto machine adapted clamping units are designed with a nozzle directly pointed at the cutting tool. Sometimes, there can be up to four streams coming in at one time at a high pressure of about 80 bar (1,160 psi).

According to him, this helps the unit to keep the part cool, which is critical in the machining of some materials. It also keeps the cutting edge cool, allowing for a longer tool life. He said that this is more pertinent when it comes to the machining of exotic materials like Inconel.

“You get to a point in the machine operation where inserts will just fail. When we implemented these high-pressure coolants in Coromant Capto, cycle times were reduced and there was much more consistency on the size of the component,” he said. This is apparently crucial for parts with thin walls as when there is heat (especially in engines), the thin walls start to move.

Even as engineers are solving complex heat-related issues, some problems are simply mechanical in nature. However, these problems are by no means easy to overcome.

“A lot of features inside a jet engine have a difficult-to-access groove. These areas were once done by special tools. We have standardised all that,” he said.

The standard product in question is called the ‘hockey stick’. Shaped similarly to a hockey stick, it allows users to cater to whatever groove size or radius that is called out on the drawing. The ‘hockey stick’ or CoroCut 90/45 deg is a standard insert for complex shapes, reducing the need for special inserts. The GC1115 grade of insert can be applied to both ISO M and ISO S machining and as far as Sandvik Coromant is concerned, they are the only one offering it.

Singapore Aerospace Industry Taking Off

For Mr Shomaker, Singapore’s aerospace industry is “fairly new”. While it is large, it is not as large as the oil and gas industry in the country, but it will be because he feels Singapore is “a perfect place” for companies looking for high precision type of components to be made.His optimism is possibly fuelled by the fact that the country is slowly becoming the place to be in Southeast Asia for companies in the aerospace vertical. The country has an aerospace park that supports business and general aviation activities. The park hosts an integrated cluster of activities including MRO of aircraft and components; manufacturing and assembly of aircraft engines and components; training and R&D.

Productivity Centre Sometimes you simply would not know until you try because the best-laid process plan can occasionally churn out surprising results. “If engineering was exact science, things would be much easier,” said Bo Shomaker as he made his way around the Productivity Centre at Sandvik Coromant’s facility in Singapore. When it comes to metal cutting, it is difficult to know for sure until the actual cutting has taken place. While testing may be frowned upon on a shop floor, a Productivity Centre provides a safer and low cost alternative. That is why the company has a dedicated place for customers and potential customers alike to carry out test cuts or exchange their expertise with one another while using the centre. In addition to aerospace, the centre also caters to other industry verticals like oil & gas and automotive. The centre currently houses one machining centre, one multi-task machine with a traditional lathe expected to arrive shortly.