Northwest Aerospace News August | September 2020 | Page 44

This includes the company’s integrated
vision system. According to Aritex
USA general manager, David Erickson,
“The vision system was developed originally
to give secondary feedback to our
robotic drilling systems to help improve
positional accuracy, but we also started
developing software for unrelated factory
floor applications, which has led us
into what people generally call Industry
4.0 or Digital Twin.
“At a larger scale, this means that an entire
factory can be filled with machines
and devices that both pull data and send
to a centralized server and also receive
data pushed down to the shop floor in
the form of updated part programs or
projected operator work instructions.”
Aritex’s vision system helps companies
leverage the enormous amount of data
now available and use it to improve the
efficiency of their operations and the
quality of their products.
Pacific Northwest Presence
In 2015 Aritex brought its experience
and expertise to the United States,
establishing an office in the Pacific
Northwest. Through this location,
Aritex partnered with Boeing to develop
the fiber stringer assembly line for the
777X wing at its Everett facility. This
assembly line included robotic gantries
capable of working with 100-foot long
parts and adjustable pallets and platforms
capable of reconfiguring to work
for different molds.
While its genesis in the Pacific Northwest
focused on Boeing, Aritex USA
has been actively working to expand its
footprint in the region over the last few
years. This includes diversifying the
industries it serves.
“A lot of the technology we’ve developed is not just applicable to aerospace
and automotive,” explained Brett Hinker, Vice President of Business Development.
“We see a lot of potential in wind energy, boat manufacturing, and
even rail.”
To facilitate its growth, the company has brought on additional staff in Washington
and is in the process of obtaining its own AS9100 certification.
44 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS