Engineering Design Consultants

Bennett Associates Design Airbus A380 Wing Skin Creep Forming Facility

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Clean Sheet Design

With the exception of the autoclave and craneage, every element of the creep forming facility for the Airbus A380 top wing skins has been project managed and designed by one company; consultant engineers M G Bennett and Associates in partnership with Airbus UK.

With a reputation as providers of innovative solutions across a wide range of engineering projects, this is the first time the company has operated in the aerospace field.

Far from being a disadvantage, this factor was in effect the key to success. By starting with a 'clean sheet' and examining the basic requirements of the facility, Bennetts has not been constrained by trying to scale up conventional creep forming facilities and tooling, instead taking a new route and avoiding many potential problems in the process.

As with any good engineering solution, the end result has a simplicity about it that belies the innovations below the surface; innovations that have not only improved key elements of the creep forming and materials handling process, but also innovations that allowed the project to be completed on budget and to a very tight time schedule.