Advancing aerospace manufacturing with precision grinding

By Staff Report March 28, 2025 1:47 pm IST

The aviation industry has become an indispensable part of the modern global economy, providing millions of jobs and being of immense importance for logistics, tourism, and trade. With an average annual increase of 3.8% in global passenger numbers over the next two decades, this trend leads to increasing orders worldwide for major aircraft manufacturers and suppliers.

It was a turning point in the history of mankind when the “Wright Flyer” became the first motorised aircraft to take off on a successfully controlled flight in 1903. More than 120 years after the Wright brothers’ maiden flight, over 200,000 flights take place every day to transport passengers and freight around the globe. The aviation industry has become indispensable for the modern global economy, providing millions of jobs, and is of immense importance for logistics, tourism, and trade. This trend is set to continue, with the industry association IATA forecasting an average annual increase of 3.8 per cent in global passenger numbers alone over the next two decades.

This positive trend leads to increasing orders worldwide for both major aircraft manufacturers and suppliers. This is because things are no longer as they were in the days of the Wright brothers, where they were able to manufacture most of the components for their “Wright Flyer” in their workshop. Modern aircraft cannot be built without the cooperation of highly specialised suppliers who manufacture engines, landing gear, fuselage components, avionics, or cabin interiors, for example.

Efficiency and sustainability are becoming increasingly important

“Every manufacturer today has to become more efficient – both in terms of the product and in production,” said Martin Hofmann, Sales Director North America and aerospace specialist at STUDER. Machine companies such as the Swiss manufacturer of high-precision CNC cylindrical grinding machines play a decisive role for suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) because their production systems manufacture crucial components for the aerospace industry. For example, pinion shafts for helicopter transmissions are manufactured on the S31 CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine. Customers benefit from the ability to perform complete machining in a single clamping operation, which enables the tightest form and position tolerances. This also eliminates the need for re-clamping and unproductive idle times. The machining time is reduced with the use of grinding wheels that match the appropriate surface finish. Modern sensor technology, an individually adjustable cutting speed, and the programmable coolant pressure for roughing and fine finishing open up further optimisation options for the entire grinding process on specific workpieces.

Another example is control pistons for aircraft, which are among the most demanding components in terms of geometrical tolerances. In the past, these were manufactured on conventional machines by experienced and specially trained personnel. Today this is done automatically by a modern CNC universal cylindrical grinding machine such as the S41. Like all STUDER cylindrical grinding machines, they can be configured and optimised for the customer’s specific application. Thanks to a special unit with a length positioning probe on the longitudinal table, which automatically determines the amount to be removed from the control edge, the S41 can grind both symmetrical and asymmetrical control pistons in a single clamping – and this to an accuracy of one or two microns (40 – 80 mill”).

STUDER supports aerospace customers with innovative grinding technology

Hofmann explains that the entire industry is currently experiencing an increasing trend towards better materials, optimised aerodynamics, sensor technology and data analysis, or more efficient engines. We are therefore supporting our customers with innovative production technologies so that they can be even more successful. For example, STUDER has developed SmartJet®, an automatic and more efficient technology for cooling in the grinding process that uses up to 40 per cent less coolant and up to 50 per cent less energy than conventional methods. And WireDress®, an innovative dressing process for metal-bonded CBN and diamond grinding wheels, opens up new possibilities for difficult-to-machine materials that are frequently used in the aerospace industry. The non-contact LaserControl™ measuring system, which measures workpiece dimensions directly in the machine down to the micron range, is also of benefit in the aerospace industry, where component geometry must be precise.

Hofmann also sees the future-proof C.O.R.E. hardware and software architecture and intelligent STUDER software with comprehensive digital capabilities as a major advantage of the new generation of STUDER cylindrical grinding machines. This includes intuitive operation, process and data visualisation as well as standardised or customised automation systems. “Our focus is always on people; technology should support them,” he explains. This means that STUDER machines can be operated efficiently even by less specialised personnel after a short training phase and deliver first-class results. This is particularly important in times of an increasing shortage of skilled workers, which is also affecting the aviation industry.

Process Reliability and Precision are Important for Aerospace

Responding to the needs of the industry with innovation and technical progress: As a machine manufacturer, STUDER can look back on a history that is almost as old as modern aviation itself. Less than ten years after the Wright brothers’ flight, the Swiss Fritz Studer made grinding history in 1912 with the founding of his company. “One timeless quality that our aerospace customers in particular appreciate is the very high accuracy and repeatable process reliability of STUDER cylindrical grinding machines,” Hofmann emphasises. These properties are particularly important here, as the components must not exhibit any deviations, must withstand high forces, and are often made of materials that are difficult to machine.

The flexible and process-reliable application possibilities of cylindrical grinding technology are a great advantage here, and STUDER offers a broad portfolio of high-precision CNC machines for external and internal cylindrical grinding, on which a large number of aerospace components of different sizes, geometries, and weights can be manufactured. STUDER cylindrical grinding machines are used in many places as production systems for modern civil aircraft. For example, the S31, S33, and Favorit can grind landing gear components coated by high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) to an accuracy of just a few microns. The same applies to the test specimens that are so important in the aerospace industry for material testing for certain processes (dog bone specimens).

“Competition in the aviation industry remains fierce, and as a machine manufacturer, we can make a decisive contribution to our customers’ success,” summarises Hofmann. For him, the open and regular exchange about optimisation potential in production is just as much a part of the corporate culture as STUDER’s renowned customer care in numerous national languages and the competent advice and installation when purchasing a new system.