Code One, Volume 1, Number 2, Spring 1986 Page: 5
36 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The U.S. Air Force puts "seed money" into things like
composites, automated machining systems, and
robotics so that industry will have the incentive to
take on these higher-risk programs. Additionally,
however, Technology Modernization creates equip-
ment incentives. Because savings are shared between
industry and the USAF, industry is encouraged to
invest in top-notch equipment. In the last decade,
General Dynamics has invested a tremendous
amount into the mile-long factory in Fort Worth. For
example ...
- Five-axis multi-spindle profilers have been jointly
developed with Cincinnati Milacron.
" Old sheet metal presses were computerized. Years
ago, a company had to have a highly trained opera-
tor who knew just exactly how to stretch and form
material. Now, the process is all done by computer,
and an untrained operator can run the system.
- Brand new one- and six-inch composite tape-laying
machines have been developed and put into pro-
duction. In fact, the Fort Worth Division holds the
original patent for such a machine, built some 20
years ago.
" The composites center uses an automated guided
vehicle that runs along an invisible track on the floor
and carries material from one work cell to another.
- A multipallet machining center (built in Sweden to
General Dynamics' specifications) has run as long as
81 continuous, unmanned hours, machining all
kinds of aluminum parts.
Okay, so piles of dollars have been saved and new
vistas in technological capabilities have been realized
at the Fort Worth Division through all these wonderful
programs. But what about subcontractors? Do they
not contribute substantially to the production effort?
Could they not somehow be included in all these
modernization programs?
The answer is yes. Yes, they do contribute, and yes,
they are being included in Technology Modernization
efforts. It's called "Industrial" Technology Moderni-
zation and it's a program managed by the Fort Worth
Division to offer our subcontractors the same modern-
ization benefits that the USAF offers to us. The USAF
and General Dynamics developed the program and
the Fort Worth Division has management responsibil-
ity. Thirty subcontractors, manufacturing parts for var-
ious weapon systems in the DoD inventory, are cur-
rently involved. To date, these subcontractors haveinvested some $404 million of their own money into
the modernization effort, following $85 million in
USAF seed money-and the payoff will be $204 mil-
lion in verifiable savings on the F-16 program and
$812 million more for other DoD-related programs
for a total projected savings of just over $1 billion.
The government also funds Independent Research
And Development programs at the Fort Worth Divi-
sion, and the results are paying dividends to the USAF
that far exceed the amount originally funded. In
robotics, for instance, much research and develop-
ment was necessary to create "end effectors" - the
working end of any robot- before the new robots
were of any use in manufacturing F-16s.
Nor does the company depend solely on government
funding to carry the burden of the modernization
effort. Our data collection system has been infused
with nearly $6 million in corporate funds to improve
the labor accounting process so that exact records are
kept as to which projects are charged for what labor
hours. And would you believe a paperless factory?
Everyone knows a factory runs on paper, right? Well,
the multiple access and storage system (MASS) is
changing all that. This corporate-funded project is
aimed at eliminating paper waste. No longer will
blueprints litter the floor. CRT's will give a new look to
the centralized engineering release system, often
replacing blueprint copies with electronic images of
schematics.
The very life blood of the aircraft industry is transition
-to more advanced manufacturing methods, to new
generations of aircraft, and to that elusive and ever-
evolving concept of a Factory of the Future. In 1979,
an F-16 required over 100,000 production manhours
to produce. Today, the company is turning them out
for about 30,000 production manhours per airplane.
Our learning curve has never flattened out. As a
result, our first "zero defect" airplane was delivered
in 1982. The zero defect delivery rate since then has
been about 39 percent of all aircraft produced-and
projections indicate a 54 percent zero defect delivery
rate for future F-16 production.
We're introducing many new technologies here at the
Fort Worth Division. Future issues of Code One will
further detail the activities here, with articles that will
hopefully make it clear that we're doing all we can to
expand our leadership in what may be the world's
most demanding industry. *I
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General Dynamics Corporation. Fort Worth Division. Code One, Volume 1, Number 2, Spring 1986, periodical, Spring 1986; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1023919/m1/7/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.