A major center for the development of aerospace manufacturing technology has been announced by the UK’s Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark MP.Bristol, in South West England, is becoming an increasingly important hub for aerospace technology. Now, GKN Aerospace are set to build a Global Technology Centre (GTC) in the city, with the aim of improving digital technologies for aerospace manufacturing. The center is intended to act as a hub for world-class innovative technology for the next generation of fuel-efficient aircraft.
Bristol has a long history of aerospace manufacturing. The Bristol Boxkite was first produced in the city as early as 1910. In the modern era, Bristol’s aerospace manufacturing includes Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace. The UK’s National Composites Centre is also based in Bristol, serving the many high-tech manufacturers clustered around the region.
“The South West of England’s aerospace cluster is the largest in Europe. There are 800 companies and 57,000 people working in the aerospace supply chain.” Barry Warburton, Invest Bristol & Bath
GKN’s new center is intended to open in 2020. It will be funded to the tune of £32 million by a £17M investment from GKN Aerospace together with funding of £15M from the UK government’s Aerospace Technology Institute.
“The GTC is a great example of the UK’s industrial strategy at its best: with industry and the Government coming together to invest in the technology of the future. The GTC will continue to foster such collaboration across the entire UK Aerospace ecosystem and we look forward to working with the British Government in the years to come.’’ Hans Büthker, Chief Executive of GKN Aerospace
Support will also be provided by a consortium of collaboration partners including: the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Additive Industries B.V., ANSYS UK Limited, ATS Applied Tech Systems Limited, Centre for Modelling & Simulation, Digital Catapult, KUKA Industries UK Limited, Manufacturing Technology Centre, Materialise UK Limited, National Composites Centre, PXL Realm, Thales UK Limited, University of Bath, University of Bristol and University of Sheffield.
“The AMRC is looking forward to extending its research work with GKN in the technology areas of Additive, Digital and Machining in the Global Technology Centre. This provides the latest infrastructure element that further strengthens the UK’s position in global aerospace research.” Colin Sirett, Chief Executive Officer of the AMRC
The center will host 300 highly-skilled engineers within a 10,000-square-meter, purpose-built building. Shared spaces will enable research and development to be carried out between the collaborating universities, the UK’s CATAPULT network and GKN Aerospace’s UK supply chain. Staff and students from universities will be co-located within the center and PhD opportunities will also be available to take skills to the highest level.It is hoped that this will accelerate the adoption of new digital technologies in aerospace manufacturing.
The focus of the center will be enabling the high-rate production of aircraft structures using additive manufacturing (AM), advanced composites, improved assembly and industry 4.0 processes. Located at Horizon38 in Filton, the Rolls-Royce composites hub will be right next door. This is where Rolls-Royce is developing the next generation of carbon-fiber composite fan blades and fan cases, for future aero-engines. CTi (carbon/titanium) blades are a key feature of the new Advance engine design which will reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions by at least 20% compared to the first generation Trent aero-engine. The National Composite Center is also just a few miles away making the center perfectly located for collaboration in the development of advanced composites.
Perhaps even more significantly, the GTC will be within walking distance of the Airbus Wing Integration Centre (AWIC), currently nearing completion. The AWIC will be an advanced testing center for large structural components. It will enable Airbus and its partners to develop new and cutting-edge ideas, also helping to underpin the UK as a world-leading aerospace sector. It is central to Airbus’ aim of creating a streamlined Wing Engineering value chain. This will enable rapid and cost-effective development of mature aircraft wings. The soon-to-open 10,255-square-meter facility will house around 250 engineers with room for further expansion to enable the planned future research and development work by Airbus, as well as strategic partners in Wing Engineering Validation (systems integration, full integration, full analysis and test). It is intended to span the research spectrum, from blue sky research (TRL1) through to technologies entering production (TRL6).
“GKN Aerospace’s new Global Technology Center further strengthens our aerospace heritage and engineering expertise, and will keep the UK at the forefront of the latest technologies and manufacturing processes for the next-generation of aircraft.” Greg Clark, UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Having the GTC located so close to the AWIC is no coincidence. The facility will serve as a base for GKN Aerospace’s technology partnership in the Airbus’ ”Wing of Tomorrow” technology program as well as new additive manufacturing programs. Nobody knows exactly what the next generation of aircraft wing will be like—it may be shaped differently, assembled in a new way, or even made of composite or advanced metallic materials. What everyone does agree on is that increasing demand for air transport will mean that aircraft production rates will ramp up significantly. Wings will need to be manufactured faster, more easily and be cheaper to make and assemble. GKN’s new center will enable the company to work more closely with Airbus as they explore the best materials, manufacturing and assembly techniques, as well as new technologies in aerodynamics and wing architecture.
After concerns about the hostile takeover of GKN by Melrose Industries in early 2018, it is reassuring to see long-term investment being made into the aerospace division. The technology center is intended to maintain GKN Aerospace’s position at the forefront of technology development for the next generation of energy-efficient aircraft. The Bristol center will join a growing list of GKN Aerospace Centers of Technical Excellence around the world, focusing on technologies such as additive manufacturing, thermoplastics and smart aero-engine systems.