Assembly in Action: Modular System Saves Time and Money in Production
With a production facility in France and two in Germany, Eurocopter’s output of civil and military helicopters depends on the flexibility and speed with which different assembly lines can be set up. "Helicopters are not mass production items. They are made in small series of up to 500 units and specifically fitted out to meet the customer’s specifications," explains Reinhold Grosskopf, manager of production machinery design. "One can easily imagine that designing our production machinery to be highly flexible demands and open-minded approach regarding various assembly setups required for helicopter components."
By using Item’s modular assembly kit systems, the company’s in-house production machinery department can create assembly lines. Using Item’s Quick & Easy design CD, Eurocopter can integrate the individual system components from its own computer-aided design drawings, which generates a detailed parts list. "Item then provides us with ready-cut aluminum profiles and components, which we then just have to assemble," says Grosskopf. "Compared to the assembly work with our old system, we now have a 25 percent time savings."