India's indigenous defence manufacturing sector has received a major boost with the introduction of a new robotic drilling system by Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
This advanced technology significantly accelerates the production of wings for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, a crucial fighter jet program for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
In collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), that manufactures the Tejas, L&T has implemented a robotic drilling machine that reduces the time to drill each hole in the aircraft's wings from a previous average of 25-35 minutes to a mere one minute. This represents a dramatic increase in production efficiency.
The wings of the LCA Tejas each require around 8,000 holes for assembly, fastening various components, and integration with the aircraft's frame. Traditionally, these holes were drilled manually. This labor-intensive process was a significant time constraint, taking thousands of hours per aircraft and slowing down HAL's production schedule, especially as it aims to increase the delivery rate of the advanced LCA-Tejas Mk1A variant to the IAF.
L&T, a major Indian engineering and manufacturing firm, and a key supplier of wings for the LCA Tejas program, recognized the need for improvement. The company invested in cutting-edge automation technology to address the inefficiency of manual drilling. The resulting robotic drilling machine has dramatically reduced the drilling time, achieving an improvement of over 95% compared to manual methods.
The robotic system uses precise automation to maintain accuracy, consistency, and quality, all vital in aerospace manufacturing. It incorporates sophisticated sensors and control systems. These systems dynamically adjust the drilling process to account for differences in material thickness and type. This not only makes the process faster but also reduces errors, the need for corrections, and material waste, ensuring the wings meet the exacting standards for combat aircraft.
Currently, the robotic machine drills approximately 66% of the 8,000 holes needed for each wing set, totaling around 5,280 holes. The remaining holes, presumably those in locations requiring specialized techniques or manual attention, are still drilled by hand. Nevertheless, automating a substantial portion of the drilling process has significantly shortened the overall wing production time.
The impact of this automation is substantial. Manually drilling 5,280 holes, at an average of 30 minutes each, would take an estimated 2,640 hours. The robotic system completes the same task in just 88 hours, representing a time savings of over 2,500 hours for each set of wings.
This increased efficiency enables HAL to accelerate wing production, contributing significantly to its goal of delivering 16 to 18 LCA-Tejas Mk1A aircraft to the IAF annually. This advancement is crucial for strengthening India's indigenous defence capabilities and reducing reliance on foreign suppliers.
