Jun 14, 2013 1:35 PM

Gallery: Long Shunned, Robots Finally Infiltrate Boeing's Assembly Line

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The first large pieces of a 777 are "super panels" like these belly sections that arrive from Japan by boat. They are transferred from the harbor to the factory at Paine Field by rail.

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Overhead cranes carry side panels through the factory and lower them into place for assembly.
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A massive rotating jig allows workers to turn the fuselage as they assemble the various sections.

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As sections come together and panels are attached, the airplane comes into view.
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The Flex Track machine crawls on circular tracks laid around the fuselage. The machine is automated, but a machinist can stop the machine in an instant and make any adjustments to the task at hand.

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The 'bot, working on lap joints where panels are joined. The machine drills and countersinks the holes, and can insert the fasteners that hold panels together.
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Although Boeing is embracing robots, most of the work inside its factory is still done by hand. Here, machinists work in the middle of a panel on a string of rivet holes.

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Single-piece rivets are used in those locations where the added strength of a two-piece fastener is not needed. Once the holes are drilled and countersunk (third row down), a two-man team installs the rivets. One pushes the rivet in from the outside while the other holds a flat piece, "bucking" it from the inside. The head of the flattened rivet (top row) is then removed. What's left (second and fourth rows) secures the panels tightly.
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Robotic painters are faster and more accurate than their human counterparts, covering the 106-foot wing in just 24 minutes and using just enough paint to do the job, saving several pounds over hand-painted wings.

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The 19-axis articulating arms can even reach interior sections of the wing. They can't reach every nook and cranny, but Boeing says future generations of robots will reach the smallest sections.
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There is nothing robotic about the landing gear. It just looks cool.

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