Metal Fabrication Welding for Pivotal Aerospace Tooling Industry

M247 Sergeant York


Image by Fidgit the Time Bandit

The display reads:

M247 Sergeant York

In the late 1970s with the newest line of American combat vehicles coming into service, Cold War doctrine saw a requirement for an armored anti-aircraft gun system that could keep up with the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley. Known as DIVAD (DIVisional Air Defense), the competition for this new vehicle began on 18 May 1977 and was intended to use off the shelf technology to cut down development time and cost.

From the initial proposals, two vehicles were chosen for further development: the General Dynamics XM246 and the Ford Aerospace XM247. While they used the same hull, each took a different approach to weapons systems and sensors.

NATO had standardized on the Oerlikon 35 mm as its standard anti-aircraft round and the XM246 mounted two Oerlikon cannons side by side in its massive turret. The 35 mm round allowed a larger ammunition capacity and also a higher rate of fire than the 40mm Bofors L/70 selected by the Ford Aerospace XM247.

During testing, the XM246 received higher scores and shot down nineteen targets in the live fire phase. By comparison, the XM247 only downed nine targets. However, the XM247 was seen as an easier system to manufacture and bring into service quickly. As a result, on 7 May 1981, the XM247 was chosen as the DIVAD competition winner and was given the official name "Sergeant York."

With the operational test phase underway. it became clear very quickly that the fire control radar was a significant issue. Ford Aerospace adapted the APG-66 radar used in the F-16 fighter. While an outstanding platform for targeting aircraft, it was not designed to operate on the ground and had significant difficulties distinguishing targets from ground clutter. After the failure of several well publicized tests where the radar locked on to a series anomalous targets including the packed demonstration bleachers in one instance, the York’s days were numbered. With fifty-three vehicles produced and one battery, E / 1-1 the Sergeant York program suffered setback after setback.

When it was finally canceled in 1985, it was clear that the Sergeant York fell victim to the very thing that was supposed to make it a success: off the shelf technology. Although the surviving M247s are impressive to see firsthand and enjoyable to envision what they "might have been," the Sergeant York DIVAD system will remain a mere footnote in the US Army Air Defense Artillery history.

The 40 mm guns employed by the Sergeant York were far more advanced than the combat proven weapons used on the M19 and M42 Duster. The Sergeant York had a 600 rounds-per-minute rate of fire; more than double that of its predecessors.

Despite a new turbo-supercharged diesel engine, the Sergeant York had great difficulty keeping up with the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley during field trials.

While manual control was possible, the Sergeant York’s fire control system was optimized for automatic acquisition and tracking. The Sergeant York’s radar would acquire, identify and classify potential threats, giving the crew the yes or no option to engage.

The General Dynamics XM246 utilized the faster-firing 35 mm Oerlikon KDA cannons that were currently in use on the West German Gepard anti-aircraft tank. While the Sergeant York used a modified version of the F-16’s APG-66 radar, the XM246 modified the radar found in the Navy’s Close In Weapons System (CIWS) and adapted it for mobile use, proving a far better detection and tracking system than that of the Sergeant York.

Taken December 13th, 2013.

Metal fabrication welding is one of the integral steps in the making of metal components and parts. It is the process in metal working where two or more metal parts are joined together to get the desired results. The welded components and parts hence derived are used in a wide range of industry sectors that make use of fabricated metal products. Due to space constraints, in this article, I would stick to the use of welding in the pivotal aerospace tooling industry.

Welding Essentials

For offering the best in metal fabrication welding in the important aviation industry, you should make sure that you have the right experts. They should have the required expertise to analyze electro-hydraulics, programmable logic controls and motion control for unique tolerance requirements. You should also be well equipped to provide crucial aviation tooling under tight deadlines, if the need arises. You should have different facilities so that you can carry on your unhampered even when one mechanical production unit closes down. To fulfill all these, you should be armed with a team of dedicated experts in mechanics, electro-hydraulics, programmable logic controls and motion controls.

Aerospace Tooling Process

The entire welding of metal for aerospace industry starts with proper analysis of the manufacturing needs. A competent team would then integrate the entire findings to offer you turnkey solutions (design, build, install and fine tune) that exactly suit your needs. For user friendly operations, a good metal fabricator should train the operators in proper handling of the products. A proper metal fabrication welding process for the aerospace sector include having a facility that use composite component fabrication and assembly line jigs in sizes that range from table top to a complete system.

Aerospace Tooling Products

Among the most required tooling parts and components required in the aerospace industry are mandrels and forming equipment for composite molds on many types of aircraft. Apart from that, you can also get testing fixtures and assembly tooling and fixtures for many types of aircraft. Other composites offered through metal welding are exhaust housing for helicopters to build a composite LM (lay-up mandrel). A competent metal fabricator would also offer you reliable and cost effective way to cut slots in rock-hard graphite composite pads for the shuttle’s fuel tanks. Other aerospace products include support equipment for the new heavy lift rocket program and assembly pins. These are derived by heat treatment and high precision machining exclusively for Boeing Space and Defense. Other important tools include load testing fixture for Boeing, and lift fitting for the high strength and precision required in the assembly of an aircraft fuselage and many more.

Now, that you know all about the finer nuances of metal fabrication welding, it would be much easier for you to engage one for your purpose. These tips are especially useful if you are dealing with the aerospace tooling industry.

Hi I am Kyle Arthur expert in metal fabrication welding

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Metal Fabrication Welding for Pivotal Aerospace Tooling Industry