The A380 Stage 1 HAWDE (Horizontal Automated Wing Drilling Equipment)
is a portable CNC Drilling machine that is designed to operate within the
context of the A380 Stage 1 Jig Assembly. Among its unique features is its
ability to be elevated up and down the Jig Assembly to run on a different
set of tracks at each level. One of its most impressive features, however,
is the way in which it automatically dynamically adjusts its tool-point
axis with incredible accuracy (+/- 150 microns) even while traveling
around corners on the Jig-Track assembly.
The HAWDE machine is an enabling technology for
automated drilling of large aircraft parts. HAWDE is a
five axis drilling machine that operates over the upper
and lower surfaces of eight wings, each more than 40
meters long and four stories tall. The machine accesses
the entire A380 wing using a combination of elevators
and a machine transporter that carries the machine from
surface to surface. HAWDE drills holes in spars, butt
splices, and rib feet in the wing box final assembly jigs
for A380.
