Jan 27 1976
From The Space Library
Laser beams had become the latest major tool in manufacturing aircraft, the Aerospace Industries Association announced, reporting on a year-long series of tests of the numerically controlled laser cutting-arm technique. The test objective was to define effects of a laser on physical characteristics of the parts produced, such as corrosion and fatigue. The cutting arm was coupled with a computer data bank that chose the best method of positioning parts on flat thin aluminum sheets, saving both time and money and reducing aluminum scrap by 30 to 50%. Usual methods such as blanking, routing, and sawing had been used since World War II. The Air Force was funding a program to use thicker sheets of metal and higher power lasers in an application of new technology to aircraft manufacture. (AIA Release 76-4)
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