"Safe Landing" - Sandvik Coromant Aircraft Landing Gear Processing

Aviation manufacturing is committed to developing larger aircraft to carry more passengers and increase payload. At the same time, reducing fuel consumption as much as possible is one of the goals of the industry. The use of new structural materials and advanced manufacturing techniques can reduce the weight of the aircraft itself, but the increase in payload is often accompanied by an increase in the total mass of the aircraft and the landing gear load.

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stipulates that commercial aircraft landing at a maximum rate of 10 feet per second (approximately 3 meters per second). A modern medium-sized passenger aircraft has a standard landing weight of about 150 to 250 tons and a landing kinetic energy of between 700 and 1,200 megajoules. In other words, the main landing gear damping strut absorbs energy at the moment of landing equivalent to the energy generated by the jet engine's propulsion energy or car collision accident, between 200 and 300 kN.

To create aircraft parts that can withstand high loads and impacts, such as landing gear, the aerospace industry needs safe and efficient machining processes. As a long-term, loyal partner of the industry, Sandvik Coromant has no fear of challenges and challenges.

Deep hole machining

When processing the landing gear such as the outer cylinder of the vibration-damping strut or the vibration-damping strut, it is first necessary to drill a deep hole to open the inner cavity. The diameter of the holes is typically between 80 and 250 mm and the depth of the holes is 10 to 15 times the diameter. This requires the use of a specially shaped drill bit to achieve the desired finish of the deep hole surface.

Bottle shape boring

The weight of the landing gear directly affects fuel consumption. It is a challenge for the aerospace industry to minimize the weight of the landing gear while maintaining its rigidity to withstand the corresponding loads. One way to reduce weight is to drill a cavity in the shaft of the main landing gear. The bottle-shaped boring process drills the cavity in the shaft of the stainless steel main landing gear to significantly reduce the weight of the landing gear. Sandvik Coromant experts have developed safe and efficient bottle-shaped boring solutions to help the aviation industry.

Silent Tools

Internal turning in very long overhangs is challenging, and the concept of damping provided by Sandvik Coromant is essential. The damper mast can be up to 250 mm in diameter and can reach or exceed 14 times its diameter. The structure of the landing gear is complex, and the number of internal turning operations is numerous and demanding, so it is necessary to accurately and efficiently replace various cutting heads. The CoroTurn SL cutting head is equipped with a toothed coupling that is connected to the damping mast to ensure the machining performance and to replace the cutting head safely and easily. The combination of Silent Tools and CoroTurn SL creates a first-class solution for deep hole machining on modern aircraft landing gear.

Turning

The shape of the outer frame of the landing gear damping strut is complicated, and even the most basic shape is not easy to handle. The outer diameter shape is a typical example. This problem can be solved by combining turning and milling. Most of the machining processes can be completed after one setup. Sandvik Coromant offers a wide range of milling products, including CoroMill 300 with round inserts, CoroMill 390, CoroMill Plura with integrated end mills and CoroMill316 with interchangeable end mills, which are used for all types of turning operations. Solid foundation. In the aerospace industry, this solution can manufacture all types of landing gear for large aircraft or drones.

to sum up

The aircraft is getting bigger and bigger, and the lighter weight requirements are getting higher and higher, which poses new challenges to the machining process of aircraft landing gear manufacturers. Sandvik Coromant's leading solutions for landing gear – including deep hole machining, bottle boring and turning and milling – are widely recognized.