5G in Aerospace and Defence manufacturing

1. Introduction

Manufacturing is the process of converting raw materials into desired shape and size confirming to user requirements. Over time manufacturing has evolved from the traditional human centric approach to a machine controlled one. It started out with CNC’s, robotic arm fixed with end of arm tooling, AGV’s etc. These entire still involved a human intervention wherein a human had to control a bot or monitor the operations being performed. Every operation performed comprises a lot of Data which when analyzed properly can help in optimizing the process and yield better results. With this AI has infiltrated into manufacturing. Now a factory has t o be “smart” which describes an environment where machinery and equipment are able to improve processes through automation of the highest degree and self optimization. The term smart factory includes culmination of production, information, and communication technologies with a potential for integration across the complete supply chain.

              Defence and Aerospace manufacturing involves a lot of revenue. Every component made or every activity involved is critical. According to the Society of manufacturing engineers, the aerospace and defense manufacturing industry is worth more than 170 billion dollars. The quality of the product can never be compromised as many factors are at stake. As said the shop floor of a defence and aerospace company is no more conventional- It is smart. This involves the usage of Industrial internet of things in manufacturing. IIoT focuses on the use of cyber-physical systems to monitor physical factory processes and make an automated decision based on data streams. What adds strength to this is “5G”. With the advent of advanced technologies, enormous amounts of data are generated in a manufacturing process. For example, a 3D printer used to print a missile component, carries information regarding the design of the print, the temperature of processing, the processing speed, power requirements etc. As a component is built layer by layer in 3D printing it is essential for a real-time monitoring system that boasts of high speed where information can be transmitted to stakeholders when a problem arises. Smart manufacturing built on cyber-physical management system is a growing trend and will be the factory of the future. Aerospace and defense manufacturing has embraced the idea going smart ever since the inception of advanced technologies. The current 3rd generation mobile network, 4G and other communication technologies are not developed enough to meet the demand of cyber-physical manufacturing systems employed in the aero and defense sector due to factors such as data rate, reliability, coverage, latency. As a future advanced wireless transmission technology, 5G has a significant potential to promote IIoT and cyber-physical manufacturing systems in the defence and aero shop floor

2. Why and How is 5G different?

 5G is pivotal to realize the full potential of IoT. The things that IoT expects from 5G are :

? Low cost

? Low data rate

? Low latency

? Spectral efficiency

? Longer battery life on employed devices

   Comparison of 5G with predecessors: 5G is not built around towers. It is dependent on the massive deployment of small cell technology to handle large data transmissions. 5G comprises of macro and micro cells which can be upgraded.5G will be software driven hence can be upgraded. 5G can accommodate a large number of devices per cell. This is more important for a smart factory which comprises of cyber-physical management systems. The processing power will be carried away from base stations as a result of which the computing power will be enhanced resulting in ability to handle huge data volume from various devices.

3. Role of IoT in Defence and Aerospace manufacturing

Aerospace and Defence is an industry vertical where every component manufactured has to ascertain top notch quality. At the same time, the operations involved are very high wrt to cost and it is better that costs are kept at an optimum level. The tasks involved in aero and defense sectors are often complex that is desirable to automate the process. The applications of benefits and drawbacks are listed below:

? A connected factory

The factory of defense or aerospace is an enclosed space where multiple stakeholders have an interest in. This involves the field engineers, workmen, and operational managers. Implementation of IoT will help to enable all stakeholders to keep a watch on production activities. The managers will be able to track key result areas. An automated factory involves tracking a lot of data being generated. The data generated can be leveraged with the help of AI. The drawback with existing technology is that it is tedious to handle large data streams.

? Facility management

Manufacturing of aero and defense components involves usage of high temperature and high power machines with reactive metals. Control over all parameters is very much desirable. Titanium is an aerospace alloy whose machining is difficult. While machining even the smallest of vibration has to be monitored in real time without a lag. The existing technology is not dynamic enough for a swift data transmission

? Production flow monitoring

A real-time process monitoring helps keep the bottlenecks away in a production line. When it comes to aero and defense most of the machines employed in the shop floor are high speed and special purpose machines (Laser, electron, and plasma-based) etc that have high operating costs. It is essential that in an assembly line there is no idle time. This helps in better management of operational cost and the close monitoring highlights lags in production thus eliminating wastes and unnecessary work in progress inventory. But the existing technology used is not dynamic enough.

? Inventory management

Inventory levels in any production operation have to be kept at a minimal level. In a shop floor such as aero and defence, there is a continuous flow of components used for assembly and raw material. Inventory has to be tracked at an item level and notified to all stakeholders in real time. Again in aero and defence, there is the usage of a numerous number of components which will be huge data volume. To comply with lean manufacturing any waste even excess inventory has to be dealt then and there. The existing technology is not matured enough to handle huge data streams in real time.

? Plant safety and quality control

Quality is a stringent factor when it comes to aerospace and defense. All components involved come under the “critical” category. Data can be collected regarding what conditions exist when a component is manufactured. This includes the composition of a material, temperature, etc. This data can be used for optimizing production. By combining various data regarding key performance indicators such as injuries, illness rates, long term short term absences and combining this with data analytics worker safety can be improved.

4. How can 5G make a difference?

Airbus is using IoT technology from HPE to support its assembly operation. During the manufacturing process, thousands of rivets are attached to the panel of an aircraft. Riveting must be done in the right order and the right value of torque must be used. Only 25 % of the process is automated and remaining is manual. For example, there is a handover in work at the end of a shift. When the second worker takes over and works in the wrong way this can influence the production and he has to be alerted. Tools used by operators are embedded with sensors. The collected data is transferred to a centralized control and feedback system that acts as a supervisor. It takes a finite amount of time to send data over the network to the back end system which may result in loss of data or late arrival. There exists the need of a system that does not have latency and offers higher bandwidth. This can be only provided by 5G. IoT systems cannot survive on the cloud alone. Real-time analysis can be facilitated with edge computing where IoT sensors can process large data volume.5G networks will expand the use of a sensor to sensor communication in edge architecture resulting in fast data transfer.  5G will enable manufacturers to drive more functionality closer to the edge of the network. 5G’s reliability is so high and its latency so low, the equipment can communicate wirelessly with back-end systems for time-critical operations in ways that were not possible before.

   Many of the processes carried out such as welding, finishing and painting are through a robotic arm that shares space with humans. The factories of the future will also be a human robot co shared space. The shared space will help increase production and product quality that is critical in aero and defense industry. To realize such benefits there is a need for low latencies. Robots must be flexible enough. By enabling robots to quickly exchange an enormous volume of data with the factories’ control; human safety can be ensured with heightened productivity.

           Immersive technology like AR and VR will gain prominence in defense and aerospace manufacturing wherein training will be provided to bridge the skill gap in incoming workers reducing assembly time. The labor shortage issues can be addressed with new intake that is trained well. The key roles that are critical such as engineers, technicians, and machinists require proper training.AR and VR will get a boost from 5G. Both require a cheaper and capacious network with lower latency and more consistency. The better the network; the faster the employees are trained and the production is not affected. Skilled labor is often a go-to for maintaining the quality of produce in spacecraft manufacturing. Certain tasks cannot be automated. Sometimes overhead tasks can cause worker injuries and fatalities. This issue can be addressed with usage of robotic wearable’s that are data-driven. Data is used to train the exo so that there is minimal energy expenditure in performing tasks. This needs an architecture that would be able to handle a huge amount of data at a faster speed which can be only done with the help of 5G.

Adaptive process design in very much essential in Aerospace. Aerospace engine that has complex geometries follows a manufacturing process that requires milling with extreme precision. Generally, this is carried out with the help of trial and error. Recently Fraunhofer has tied up with Ericsson and developed smart sensor technology. Data is collected on real time from smart sensors and machine control system. Workpiece simulations are already carried out. The data collected acts as an aid to workpiece simulations by providing data about what is really happening at the contact point between the tip of the cutting tool and the component surface. To make this happen the workpiece is fitted with a smart sensor. The transmission used is 5G due to which this is possible. Timing, reliability, and high data transmission rates are crucial when it comes to wireless closed-loop control systems and high precision process monitoring. There is no latency in 5G when compared to others. Apart from process monitoring in manufacturing another important activity is documentation. This can be CAD/CAM data, metrology which is very crucial in aero and also maintenance data. The process of documentation is often demanded by law and done by a worker manually. The very essence of a factory 4.0 is integrated and centralized data in combination with its availability to all networked client systems and users. There is a need for automated data collection which requires highly integrated sensor devices with pre-processing capabilities and wireless data interface that is universal. 5G is the answer to this. 3D printing is gaining prominence in aero and defense manufacturing where components are printed within a short time. 3D printing has the innate ability to process complex shapes with minimal material usage and print parts of the highest quality. Rather than a standalone printer in the future, a series of printers will be used to produce parts in a production floor. The issue with 3D printers is that real-time control of prints. This can be solved by leveraging AI and real-time monitoring. This involves fast data transfer and processing capability. When aerospace or a defense component is printed a 5G enabled network can be used to accumulate real-time data which can be analyzed parameters can be adjusted on the next layer or next print.

When many machines are employed they have to be maintained in a while for better performance. Predictive maintenance can be data fuelled. The huge volume of data can only be handled with a 5G enabled network of devices. Data analytics can be used to sense failure Each activity of the shop floor can be assigned to small cells each featuring more devices which cannot be done its predecessors. There exists an option for network slicing which is the standout feature of 5G.

5. Conclusion

It can be said that if there exists any industry vertical that would embrace the use of 5G it will be aerospace and defense in the manufacturing support function. Most of the components need a higher factor of safety which is possible only through a stringent shop floor quality standard. This can be achieved with aid of IIoT using a 5G network. The new infrastructure means the need for bigger investments which can stall the adoption of the technology but being a critical application this will be not so long in aero and defence manufacturing

6. References

1) Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT, Aachen, Germany

2) Industrial IoT : How connected things are changing the world

3) 5g Enabled Manufacturing Evaluation for Data-Driven Decision-Making

4) Computer weekly