AIT AWARDED CONTRACT FOR SPIRIT A350 XWB TRANSPORTERS
New technology for guided vehicles enables “float” for maximum load stability

PLANO, TX, - August 10, 2009 - Advanced Integration Technology (AIT), a leading industrial automation company delivering fully integrated plant floor systems to the aerospace industry, has been selected by Spirit AeroSystems to design, develop and build four transporter systems to be used at Spirit’s greenfield plant in Kinston, North Carolina. At this facility, Spirit will manufacture the Section 15 center fuselage section, a composite structure.

The objective of the AIT systems is to transport carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) molds and tooling that enable Section15’s manufacture throughout various cells and staging areas in the facility. AIT accomplishes this goal with stand-alone and tandem transporters having integrated automatic guidance systems that provide a safe, efficient and reliable means of conveying and positioning their loads throughout the building.

“To achieve Spirit’s load and productivity requirements, we developed our Hydrostatic Load Balancing Technology to uniformly distribute and stabilize the payload,” said AIT President Ed Chalupa. “Transporters were needed that could literally enable the loads to ‘float’ while efficiently moving through the manufacturing process and minimize the potential stress to the structures and tools.”

With load capacities of 100,000 pounds (in tandem mode), the AIT transporter systems utilize two real-time vision cameras that follow a line on the factory floor. The control system uses the data generated by the camera to automatically calculate speed and steering corrections. The systems operate in either auto-guidance or manual mode, with a chassis design that allows articulation to adapt to any deviations in the factory floor. With multi-function wireless control, the Spirit team will have total control of the transporters’ omni-directional movement for ultimate flexibility.

About AIT

Founded in 1992, AIT is a leading industrial automation company delivering fully integrated plant floor systems to the aerospace industry. We design, engineer, manufacture, and install machines and systems for the automated assembly of aerospace structures, including fuselage, wings, and empennage. Relying on the strength of our diverse team of engineering pros, AIT has a leading position as the predominant integrator and prime contractor to the world’s foremost aerospace companies, with hundreds of systems installed worldwide. Learn more at www.aint.com.