A month ago Scott Fancher, who heads Boeing’s Dreamliner program, said the changes required to fix a wing design flaw seemed like no big deal. In a conference call with analysts on June 23, Fancher commented: “The area in question is a series of relatively small areas in the side-of-body join and the various modification options that we are looking at are really quite simple. A few handful of parts at each one of the locations that can be installed on aircraft that are already assembled or aircraft that are currently in production within the production system. So (it’s) a modification that can readily be installed.” Oh, was he wrong.
A new report in the Seattle Times says the required fix is major, cannot be made easily on existing test aircraft and will further postpone the Dreamliner take-off-which is already two years delayed.
The problem is that the original design put too much stress on composite sections of the wing, causing them to delaminate. In one potential solution under study, a U-shaped cut-out will be created in each upper wing-skin stringer. The reshaped stringer ends will then be refastened to a titanium fitting that connects the wing stringers to stringers on the fuselage side of the join.
Stringers are the composite rods that stiffen the inside of the wing or body skin. Boeing executives told Wall Street yesterday that a solution has been identified and will be disclosed at a later date.
Still hanging in the balance is the Design News report that the Dreamliner design is 8 percent overweight-and that’s before the new titanium fasteners are added to improve wing-to-body strength.
Inspired by the hooks a parasitic worm uses to penetrate its host's intestines, the Karp Lab has invented a flexible adhesive patch covered with microneedles that adheres well to wet, soft tissues, but doesn't cause damage when removed.
Engineers at the University of California, San Diego are designing a robotic arm that takes inspiration from the loose, flexible, yet very strong structure of the armored plates on a seahorse's tail.
Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology have designed a new nanoscale material that can transmit light faster than the 186,000 miles per second it usually takes to travel through air.
It has often been said that as California goes, so goes the nation. This spring, the state's wind power is setting energy generation records and solar energy generation is expected to rise sharply during the second half of 2013.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
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I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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