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Novator’s ’open-house’, held in mid May, attracted a great interest from leading aircraft
manufacturers such as Airbus, EADS, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Stork Fokker and SAAB.
Presentations of Novator’s technique, orbital drilling, were held throughout the day, which
included contributions from the aircraft manufacturer’s own experience of this technology. In
addition, Novator demonstrated their latest products.
Novator’s newly installed CEO, Eskil Larsson, got underway with a flying start.
- I am surprised by this great interest, stated Eskil Larson. The seminar was very well attended,
and it is particularly encouraging to see how our customers participated to such a high degree,
in a seminar arranged by a supplier. This shows that Novator has a very sound technology.
Novator’s drilling method, which is based on a double-rotating eccentric cutting tool, affords
identifiable advantages for significant cost savings and shorter lead-times during aircraft
manufacturing.
The aircraft manufacturing industry endeavours to build lighter, more effective aircraft trough
the use of fibre composites. In these conditions orbital drilling is well suited, allowing the
possibility of quality improvements. The most common joining method within aircraft assembly
is bolt and rivet fastening. There are millions of holes in an aircraft for joining aircraft structure
components.
-Hole quality is a central concern for aircraft manufacturers, stated Ingvar Eriksson, founder and
marketing manager at Novator. This is because the quality of the hole influences joint strength
and life of the aircraft. The possibility of reductions in production costs, lead-times and quality
improvements explains the great interest in this technology.
During the demonstrations a programmable orbital drilling unit was displayed amongst
others, a unit for which Novator recently secured a multi million order (approx. €
3,500,000) from Airbus. The machine’s flexibility and possibilities demonstrated, raised
many eyebrows.
Published: 2006-08-04
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