PRESS KIT

2017 Paris Air Show

FACTORY OF THE

FUTURE

Partner in the Factory Lab initiative

Safran is one of the eight founding members of the Factory Lab. Inaugurated in September 2016 in the Paris-Saclay science and technology cluster, it consolidates leading players from the worlds of research, education and industry for the full-scale testing of the underlying technologies for the Factory of the Future developed by innovative small businesses. Eight projects have already been selected, with the aim of building demonstrators in nine to 12 months, and a second project selection round is in the pipeline. In the long run, this structure will support about 20 annual projects, with a five-year budget of 40 million euros.

UNPRECEDENTED ACCELERATION

« Lead times, quality, costs… The Factory of the Future is the fruit of a realization that our plants need to make a quantum jump in performance to maintain their competitiveness. At the same time, we have to leverage digital solutions which will lead to breakthroughs not seen in the last 40 years. Futurizing our factories is also a way of addressing the unprecedented pace of change in today’s aerospace market. For example, take the LEAP®, our new turbofan engine already chosen for the Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX and Comac C919 jetliners. We delivered 100 of these engines in 2016, and this figure will jump to nearly 500 in 2017, 1,200 in 2018, 1,800 in 2019 and 2,000 in 2020. In other words, in just four years, we will experience a growth rate that its predecessor, the CFM56®, never reached in 20 years of volume production. »

Olivier Horaist, Group Vice President Industrial and Purchasing

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Today’s digital transformation is a top strategic objective for Safran. The “Factory of the Future” is one of the keys to this transformation, since it incorporates today’s breakthrough and even disruptive technologies in our production facilities.

Safran spent 704 million euros on industrial facilities in 2016, including 483 million euros in France, the strategic core of our research and production operations, and home to 60% of the Group’s 30,000 production jobs worldwide.Over and above our own transformation, Safran also encourages buy-in to these precepts by the entire industrial ecosystem through strategic partnerships spanning our supply chain: Aubert & Duval for materials, Mecachrome for machined parts, Dassault Systèmes for computer modeling, and startups like Diota for augmented reality.

The Factory of the Future fosters the convergence of a multitude of solutions engendered by the digital revolution: connected machines and objects (Internet of Things), data continuity for production and operations, real-time processing of huge masses of data, robotics, cobotics and human-machine interfaces, 3D printing (additive manufacturing), artificial intelligence and much more. These technologies impact every facet of conventional production systems, from manufacturing per se all the way to testing and logistics, not to mention R&D and even staff training. The upshot of the digital transformation is a factory that has been redesigned around people, providing an optimized working environment that lets employees focus on higher value-added tasks. It’s also a plant that meets new business requirements, through shorter development cycles, much faster responsiveness, higher productivity and better quality control.

INDUSTRIALAN

REVOLUTION

FROM SCIENCE FICTION TO REALITY:the Factory of the Future deploys technologies that were undreamed of only a generation ago.

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You don’t have to build a new factory to implement breakthrough production technologies.Safran has largely proven this with the construction of innovative production lines in existing plants, to meet the requirements of the latest programs. Calling on augmented reality, connected tools, touch screens, robots, cobots and more, these production lines already have what it takes to shorten production cycles, reduce costs and improve working conditions.

These futuristic technologies can already be seen in action at Safran plants, for example in the Paris suburb of Villaroche, one of Safran Aircraft Engines’ legacy plants, which assembles LEAP engines on two “pulse lines”. These lines feature a digital projection system to help position the components and subassemblies to be assembled, while a patented system holds and rotates the engine horizontally, so that people don’t have to work at heights. In Bordes, southwest France, Safran Helicopter Engines has created its first automated production line for turbine blades, starting with the raw casting and turning out a finished part ready to be assembled on the engine.

Safran offers a host of innovations of this type, including:

The first “moving line” in the aviation industry, inaugurated in 2015 at Safran Nacelles in Le Havre, for the A320’s nacelles;

Safran Transmission Systems’ gear line at its plant in Colombes (greater Paris area), redesigned for more linear workflows and to integrate an autonomous production center, comprising robotized machining cells;

New semi-automated lines for drums and guide vanes at Safran Aero Boosters in Herstal, Belgium, applying the flexible manufacturing system concept. These lines include machining stations with parts supplied by an automated shuttle.

AT SAFRAN, THE “FACTORY OF

THE FUTURE” IS NOW

INNOVATION IN ACTION AT SAFRAN

Recognized excellence

In 2016, both the LEAP® assembly line in Villaroche and the new turbine blade line in Bordes earned the “Showcase for Tomorrow’s Industry” label from the Industry Alliance for the Future, a trade association for the industrial and digital sectors, under the auspices of the French government. This label recognizes companies that have developed an innovative project to organize production, especially by using digital technology.

50% time savings on the production of turbine blades at Safran Helicopter Engines’ Bordes plant

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By virtual reality we mean multimedia systems allowing people to be immersed in a computer-managed 3D environment, projected on a screen, or via special helmets such as the Oculus Rift, well known to the general public.The feeling of immersion is further increased by the user’s ability to interact with this environment, not only through visual and auditory stimuli, but also haptic stimuli, meaning touch and force feedback. In the industrial sector, these technologies are now being applied at different stages, enabling us to accurately anticipate future conditions, from product and ergonomic workstation design, to operator training.

The Safran Nacelles plant in Le Havre is the Group’s pioneer in virtual reality. At the start of the Airbus A330neo program, for instance, the expected quick ramp-up led to the use of virtual reality, enabling the company to develop new nacelles in just 42 months (versus 60 for the A320neo nacelles). In addition, computer modeling of the new production line, in conjunction with its future operators, led to a 10% reduction in the tooling budget, by optimizing its organization before construction. Safran Nacelles is now in the process of deploying this approach at all plants, in France and worldwide.

This type of digitization is set to explode at Safran, with the planned installation of virtual reality systems at all plants, opening doors to new ways of working together. Other Safran companies are already leveraging digital capabilities. For example, Safran Aircraft Engines has started to use virtual reality to simulate the programming of robots and cobots, to show operators the design of future assembly and machining stations, and approve them jointly.

ENTERING A VERY

SIMULATING NEW ERA

E300,000 savings generated by Safran Nacelles’ virtual realityroom, paying back its investment in less than a year

A 3D virtual reality room in Le Havre

Developed with French specialist ESI, Safran Nacelles’ virtual reality room comprises two screens measuring 4 meters wide by 2.5 meters high (about 13 x 8 ft), one set up horizontally at floor level to facilitate the immersion of engineers, technicians and operators. Wearing 3D viewing goggles, which adapt the display according to their position, users can see full-size parts designed with CAD software, or work on ergonomics and positions using virtual mannequins.

INNOVATION IN ACTION AT SAFRAN

FACTORY OF THE FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

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Augmented reality involves superimposing, in real time, data and information over a real image, transmitted to the user via a screen or connected goggles. In the production process, this innovative technology enriches the operator’s work environment to save time and improve quality. Along with artificial intelligence (especially for image processing) and a connection to information systems, it helps guide people’s gestures, for example to visualize the actions needed every step of the way, accurately identify the equipment that needs work, change the viewing angle so you can “see” a part that would otherwise be less visible, etc.

Among the different projects underway across the Group, Safran Electrical & Power has developed two especially innovative solutions:

A plug-in inspection and aid system, to check cables plugged into connectors, combining augmented reality (real-time information display over a synchronized video stream) and automated image processing to identify anomalies;

A troubles hooting tool, designed along with the startups Diota and Win MS, which allows operators to see and locate electrical faults, using a digital tablet, behind the walls in aircraft where many kilometers of wiring are hidden.

Another augmented reality solution has been developed at Safran Nacelles, along with Diota, to optimize the non-destructive testing of composite panels. After a robot checks a part using infrared thermography, software indicates to the inspector the checks still to be carried out, by projecting any non-compliant areas directly on the panel in question (which can measure from 3 to 12 square meters).

A SIXTH SENSE?

Diota: new-gen expertise

Safran acquired a stake in Diota in September 2016 to benefit from this company’s advanced expertise in augmented reality. We have been working with this innovative company, founded in 2009 and now the leading provider of augmented reality software for industry in France, since 2015. Today, Diota serves many companies in a wide range of sectors: aerospace, rail, naval, automotive, chemicals, energy, etc.

INNOVATION IN ACTION AT SAFRAN100 % of wiring inversion errors avoided by using augmented reality

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Greater productivity, quality and flexibility, less arduous work, improved ergonomics: the advantages of using robots on production lines are well known, and they are also deployed in a growing number of industries.Over and above pure automation, a very promising new field has emerged, namely “cobotics”, or collaborative robots. The aerospace industry is especially keen on this approach, because people continue to play a decisive role in our industry. Cobotics allows us to combine the capabilities of a robot (strength, precision, repeatability, etc.) with people’s specific skills (know-how, analysis, decision-making, etc.). The operator and robotic system work together directly or by remote control, or even with an exoskeleton that multiplies the capabilities of the human body.

Safran has undertaken an applied research program on cobotics and the human-machine interface since 2014. For example, robotics, ergonomics and cognitive experts team up to develop cobotic concepts, which are tested at ArianeGroup (the new name of Airbus Safran Launchers) to analyze interactions. At the same time, our industrial innovation workshop is testing cobots on several production lines in Group companies, including at two plants in the greater Paris area:

Safran Nacelles in Colomiers, for the Silvercrest®, a new-generation business jet engine. Two self-balancing mobile hoist arms are used to move and integrate nacelle components, from the ground to installation on the engine;

Safran Helicopter Engines in Buchelay: an articulated arm facilitates material handling and transfer to machines. Fitted with a “claw” and a hoisting hook that can carry 40 kilos, the arm will eventually be used with all compatible workstations.

At Safran Reosc, the Safran Electronics & Defense subsidiary specialized in high-performance optics for astronomy and space, robots are used daily in the production shops because of their reliability and high precision. The Saint-Pierre-du-Perray facility deploys a dozen computer-controlled robots to polish high-performance telescope mirrors, to within a few nanometers.

PAIRING PEOPLE AND MACHINES

TO BOOST PERFORMANCE

The key to zero defects?

Because of their regularity and precision, robots boost production efficiency, while also facilitating quality monitoring. For example, when Safran Aircraft Engines tests CFM56 engines, a robot can systematically process more than 1,000 data points in 20 minutes – compared with the four hours it took a single operator, involving the checks plus taking photos for traceability.

200+ robots deployed at Safran (sand blasting, handling, changing tools, visual inspections, etc.)

INNOVATION IN ACTION AT SAFRAN

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The advent of additive manufacturing marks a radical change in the production landscape. With conventional manufacturing methods, parts are generally cast, forged and then machined, a “subtractive” process. Like the 3D printers now familiar to the general public, industrial additive manufacturing machines build up a part layer by layer, working from a digital model. The raw material (metallic, ceramic, or polymer powder) is deposed on the work surface in layers 20 to 100 microns thick, then melted by a laser or electron beam. The advantage of this technology is its overall speed and flexibility, especially to produce or repair parts on demand. At the same time, it is capable of making single-piece parts with complex shapes, which would be impossible using conventional techniques.

A COPERNICAN REVOLUTION IN

MANUFACTURING

Additive manufacturing has been used for several years now by various Safran companies. These processes continue to be developed and refined by a team of 20 specialized engineers at Safran Tech, the Group’s Research & Technology center at Paris-Saclay. The team is tasked with research, of course (including powders, metallurgy, inspections, numerical simulation, etc.), but also with supporting Safran companies in the design and certification of an increasing number of complex components, and making sure they offer the same reliability as those made by conventional methods. Different parts are already in production, including:

Combustor fuel injectors and swirlers, made using the selective laser melting (SLM) process, for the Arrano and Ardiden 3 turboshaft engines (Safran Helicopter Engines, Bordes);

Most of the parts on the Saphir 4.2 auxiliary power unit (APU), made using the powder bed laser melting process (Safran Power Units, Toulouse).

Safran Aircraft Engines’ Villaroche and Gennevilliers plants are already using additive manufacturing in their production processes: bi-component molds for lost wax casting, the manufacture of small tools, fast prototyping of tooling to be tested before machining them out of metal, etc. Production parts using the additive manufacturing process will be introduced on LEAP engines by the end of 2017.

Innovation that addresses Safran’s needs

In April 2017, Safran Corporate Ventures acquired a stake in Prodways Group, a European leader in 3D printing for industrial and professional applications. The two companies also signed a strategic partnership aimed at developing printable materials and assembly techniques using inorganic compounds, such as ceramics or metals.

INNOVATION IN ACTION AT SAFRAN

15 additive manufacturing machines at Safran

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The closed door machining concept consists of a production line of autonomous machines, capable of continuous machining with minimal human intervention. By using ad hoc processes and supervision, this type of line operates 24/7, while also allowing better planning of workshop tasks, and limiting employee risks during material and parts handling.

MAXIMIZING THE USE OF INDUSTRIAL

FACILITIES

Safran Landing Systems has implemented closed door machining at two plants to address the increasingly demanding requirements for the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 jetliners and significantly boost production performance:

The titanium workshop at Bidos (southwest France) which handles the machining of large titanium components: this 5,200 square meter building (56,160 qd ft) houses all machinery and equipment needed to make these parts autonomously. It has cut production cycles in half since 2013;

The Mirabel plant, near Montréal in Canada, which primarily makes the main fittings for large landing gear. The new building, completed in 2013, has also cut production cycles in half by grouping its machinery and equipment and using digital programming for its machine tools.

Likewise, the Safran Landing Systems plant in Molsheim, eastern France, which mainly turns out wheels and carbon brakes for Airbus jets, operates 24/7 with a team of just ten persons. Since implementing the closed door machining approach, operators no longer have to make adjustments during machining, which has significantly increased the time that machines are in operation (6,500 hours/year, compared with 4,000 previously) and reduced the machining cycle from ten days to just one.

A new role for operators

With closed door machining, operators take on a different role. They move up the skills chain to become coordinators of a machining cell, capable of operating several machines at once. They call on advanced communications (large screens and tablets, etc.) so they can concentrate on high value-added supervision and control tasks, while the machines operate independently.

INNOVATION IN ACTION AT SAFRAN

E40 million capital investmentneeded to build the titanium facility at Bidos in 2012 and 2013

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Non-destructive testing (NDT) plays a key role in checking the quality of subassemblies or components at every phase in their lifecycle – not just during manufacture, but also in service and during maintenance. NDT encompasses different techniques, including visual inspection, dye penetrant inspection, radiography, ultrasonic testing, thermography, etc. A qualified operator is needed to analyze test results and decide if the part is compliant, according to very strict standards. Today, these operations can be simplified and made more reliable, thanks to digital technologies (sensors and image processing) and their automated deployment on the production line.

SIMPLER AND MORE RELIABLE

QUALITY CONTROL

For example, Safran has developed three especially innovative non-destructive testing processes:

X-ray computed tomography coupled with 3D imaging, already in use at the plants in Commercy (eastern France) and Rochester, New Hampshire (United States) to check the fan blades for the LEAP engine. Using tracers integrated in the composite material, a 3D image of the part is built up, recalibrated in relation to a reference model, then analyzed using diagnostic-aid algorithms;

Digital radiography in production, deployed by Safran Aircraft Engines at the Gennevilliers and Evry-Corbeil plants near Paris to check LEAP engine parts (turbine blades, intermediate frame sleeve) and by Safran Helicopter Engines to check several turboshaft engines parts. This process, which replaces the previous method based on the use of traditional film stock, couples X-ray inspection with image processing algorithms;

Infrared thermography on the composite inner panels in the A320’s nacelles. A robotic system acquires data which is then analyzed by an operator using visualization software. The areas requiring additional checks are projected directly on the part in question, using an augmented reality system. This method replaces the previous technique based on ultrasound and water jets, which was long and complex.

A winning combination

Developed for the nacelles on the LEAP-1A and Trent 7000 engines powering the A320neo and A330neo jetliners, infrared thermography, coupled with augmented reality software – a world first – should help keep pace with the strong ramp-up in production planned in the coming years. The time needed for inspection is cut in half.

INNOVATION IN ACTION AT SAFRAN

100 % of partsmade by Safran undergo NDT

FACTORY OF THE FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

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While people are still an indispensable part of the Factory of the Future, the way that operators’ knowledge and skills are applied is changing. Traditional interactions with machines are reduced (especially with closed door machining), while cobots will become increasingly clever at adapting to everyone’s experience and expertise. In addition to the increased productivity made possible by technology, we will also see improvements in workplace comfort and safety, thanks to enhanced ergonomics, real-time information access, handling requirements reduced to a minimum, and repetitive manual tasks replaced by analysis, supervision, problem-solving and other value-added tasks. Furthermore, digital and virtual reality will transform the training and mentoring programs needed to acquire and embed these future-facing skills.

Safran is participating in the project to set up a vocational training center for jobs in the Factory of the Future, initiated by the mechanical industries trade association of the greater Paris area (Île-de-France). The aim is to address the needs of companies whose production processes are going digital, and who have to recruit a large number of technicians and operators to renew their workforce and support growth in production.

The training center is located in the Paris suburb of Bondoufle and will be open at the start of the school year in 2018, acting as a “simulator” for the Factory of the Future. It will welcome some 300 students on work-study schemes for a three-year program, along with 300 persons taking continuing training courses in new production methods: networked machines, the Internet of Things, additive manufacturing, augmented reality, cobots, etc.

A center of excellence, this training facility will also function as a showcase for professions in mechanical industries, encouraging young people to find vocations in this sector, which has openings, but is undervalued in today’s job market. It will be a forum for the many stakeholders in the Factory of the Future, and also a key to the success of this industrial transformation.

NEW SKILLS IN AN OPTIMIZED

ENVIRONMENT

BONDOUFLE : A TRAINING CENTER FOR TOMORROW’S JOBS

545,000 line workers and techniciansin France’s mechanical industries

Renewing the workforce and enhancing qualifications

Nearly 850,000 persons are currently employed by French mechanical industries, more than half of them as line workers and technicians. Among the latter, nearly 90,000 are 55 or older. Because of these demographics, plus the rapid transformation in production resources, we need to identify new ways of training tomorrow’s operators and technicians. This is especially true in today’s context, where training pathways have often proved to be fragile, not widely available, and have a hard time addressing current requirements in professions such as fitting, machining and coordinates measurement.

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About SafranSafran is an international high-technology group and tier-1 supplier of systems and equipment in the Aerospace and Defense markets. Operating worldwide, Safran has nearly 58,000 employees and generated sales of 15.8 billion euros in 2016. Working alone or in partnership, Safran holds world or European leadership positions in its core markets. Safran undertakes Research & Development programs to meet fast-changing market requirements, with total R&D expenditures of 1.7 billion euros in 2016. Safran is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange, and its share is part of the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 indices.

For further information: www.safran-group.com

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