Airbus orders Orbital Drilling machines for A350 XWB assembly

Stockholm, January 11, 2010 - Airbus has purchased advanced drilling machines based on Novator’s patented orbital drilling technology for a total order value of SEK 4 million (EUR 400 thousand). The machines will be used for assembly of pylons for the Airbus A350 XWB, at the assembly plant in S:t Eloi, France.

By using Orbital Drilling, Airbus will be able to drill on the Airbus A350 XWB pylons in one single step. The method is more precise, uses dry drilling and avoids leaving chips and other residues in the structure.

“This order is important for us, we are involved in several projects within the aerospace industry validating the Orbital Drilling technology for production implementations”, says Hans-Petter Andersson, CEO at Novator. “Airbus is the first company to conclude the validation process and place an order. This will help other companies in their decision to introduce the next generation of drilling technology in their production lines. The aerospace industry faces real challenges when introducing advanced materials in the aircraft designs, and Orbital Drilling has a large potential for decreasing manufacturing costs.”

The Orbital Portable M-Series machines to be delivered to Airbus are a brand new series of advanced portable drilling units. The machines are developed for increased efficiency when drilling in advanced materials like Titanium and carbon fiber (CFRP).

The Orbital Portable M-Series is based on Novator’s patented Orbital Drilling technique that enables drilling of holes with high quality and finish while reducing the machine inventory and the cutting times. Orbital drilling is a totally new drilling technique; the cutter is revolving in a mechanically forced eccentric movement while simultaneously rotating around its own axis. In orbital drilling, the thrust force is much lower resulting in higher quality and is one of the factors that opens up for dry drilling. Dry drilling makes coolant obsolete and reduces environmental hazards.

For further information, please contact:

Hans-Petter Andersson, CEO, Novator
Phone: +468 673 54 57
Mobile: +4670 380 74 59
Hp.andersson@novator.eu 

or

Mikael Wester, Marketing Communications Manager, Novator
Phone: +46 8 673 54 80
Mobile: +46 70 453 65 33
mikael.wester@novator.eu