Project · Aerospace & Defence
Flight-Control Brackets
Challenge
The incumbent supplier quoted 6-week lead times and struggled to pass the customer's engineering review: the true-position callouts on four Ø12 H7 bores kept falling outside tolerance after heat treat, and every attempt at correction added another week.
Engineering Approach
A machining engineer reviewed the drawing before quoting — no algorithm. DFM change: combine the two 5-axis setups into one, using a probing cycle before the bore pass to compensate for residual heat-treat distortion, eliminating fixture stack-up error between setups.
Result
FAI completed per AS9102 and accepted at first submission. First production batch delivered in 4 weeks; subsequent batches stable at 3.5–4 weeks, roughly 30% under the previous supplier's cycle. TCO improved through fewer fixtures and no repeat-FAI cost.