Master Thesis: Implementation of Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM)

Job description

Airbus Helicopters Donauwörth

Airbus Helicopters, formerly Eurocopter, is a division of Airbus Group, a global pioneer in aerospace and defense related services. Employing approximately 22,000 people worldwide, Airbus Helicopters is the world's No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 6.3 billion euros. The company's fleet in service includes some 12,000 helicopters operated by more than 3,000 customers in approximately 150 countries.

Airbus group is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2013, the Group - comprising Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters – generated revenues of € 59.3 billion and employed a workforce of around 144,000.

(The legal name change from European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V. ('EADS N.V.') to Airbus Group N.V. is subject to the approval of the Annual General Meeting).

Description of the job

Are you looking for a final year project? Would you like to discover the work of a Engineer? Then apply now! We look forward to you joining us at the Tooling Design in Donauwörth.

Start: February 2016

The development, design and usage of production equipment (tooling) in the aerospace industry requires the compliance with dedicated specifications and regulations. Among these are specifications and regulations issued by authorities and also by Airbus Helicopters and the Airbus Group. On the other hand, the specifications and regulations for tooling is in many manners not as strict as it is for parts of aircrafts, e.g. in the topic of statistical evidence, tolerances.
Also the guidelines for tooling design and management in the aerospace industry are different than those for aircraft parts, e.g. by regulation of the authorities it has to be considered that an aircraft manufacturer must provide spare parts as long as at least one aircraft of a type is in use.

Especially in the field of helicopters, production methods developed for serial production are not applicable, due to the low number of identical helicopters delivered and the low number of helicopters of the same type. The customisation rate in the helicopter industry is much higher than for aircrafts. An optimisation of the existing production processes and the outsourcing of production to suppliers has to be reviewed in the context of production possibilities with ALM.
For the time being no process exists, considering the optimisation of tooling by the usage of ALM and the related design methods.

Tasks & accountabilities

Your role will involve the following exciting topic:
Content of the thesis/ aim: Elaboration of a process for the optimisation of tooling design and production using ALM within the aerospace industry.
Topics overview:
Incorporation in the tooling design and production for the aerospace industry:

· Literature analysis
· Existing design processes and methods
· Existing tooling and solutions
· Interfaces

Incorporation into Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM):

· Existing ALM/AM methods
· Suppliers for the different ALM technologies
· Benchmarking
· Existing design methods
· Status of existing AM technologies and machines

Process documentation for optimised tooling design with usage of AM:

· Expected optimisation
· Strategic importance
· Market Situation/competitors
· Implementation and deployment plan (short, medium and long term)

Desired profile

Required skills

You offer:

· Enrolled student within Engineering or similar field of study
· English: fluent
· German: fluent

You are a good team player, have excellent communication skills, and are able to work independently.