Boeing tomorrow will offer its second quarterly update on the progress of the 787 Dreamliner as it awaits its maiden voyage which could be delayed. Boeing has been saying late summer which technically means within the next 18 days, but the Seattle Times (ST), citing unnamed sources, reported Saturday that the first flight could be delayed until late October or beyond due to a fastener shortage. The 787 fastener shortage was broken in the Wall Street Journal on June 19. The ST story said that the plane rolled out on July 8 for the plane’s debut was held together with temporary fasteners which had to be replaced with permanent ones. "Power on" when all electrical systems are switched on is still weeks away, the ST reported.
Orders for the plane - 684 at last count, according to the company - have been so strong that the company is considering building 14-16 a month, double the highest rate for the any widebody jet from Boeing or Airbus, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. No doubt, the Boeing’s Everett plant is a busy place these days where Boeing execs and engineers try to reconcile booming demand with parts shortages and complex manufacturing logistics.
The Witchita Eagle also ran the ST story about the possible delay and said the company is seeking to temporarily transfer 60-80 mechanics from Boeing’s defense plant in Wichita to Everett, presumably to alleviate the 787 crunch.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Plastic may not be the most beloved of materials to the more environmentally minded, but Plasti 2012 aimed to mold a different opinion of the material in people's minds.
The rare earth element market has become steadily more rational, and new sources coming online will continue to reduce costs. Still, it is unlikely that prices will drop to their former lows.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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