Installing Second Unit Of One of World's Largest Autoclaves

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is about to introduce a second autoclave into the Fabrication Factory at its Oye Plant of the company's Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, for use in forming the shape of composite-material wing boxes for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The second autoclave, which is being installed in response to Boeing's plans to boost production of the 787, is the same type as the first - one of the world's largest - in operation at the factory since 2006. The autoclave performs curing and shape forming of the composite-material prepregs that are layered into the shape of a wing box under high temperature and high pressure.

The autoclave, cylindrical in shape, measures 26 feet in exterior diameter and 131 feet in length and weighs 700 tons. Indispensable for the production of 98-foot-long composite-material wings, it can accommodate placement of either the upper or lower half of a full-size wing box for cocuring, enabling stable increases in high-precision production of uniform quality. The autoclave was transported from Hiroshima by ship, arrived at the pier adjacent to the Oye Plant on November 15, and was brought to the Fabrication Factory today.

MHI undertakes production of the wing boxes for the 787 and manufactures them at the Fabrication and Assembly Factories at its Oye Plant. As production of the 787 has expanded, MHI has already increased its installations of processing machines, including water-jet cutting machines for the skin and composite-material layup equipment. The addition of the second autoclave completes the structure required to increase production to the needed level.

FMI: www.mhi.co.jp/en/