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PRESS RELEASE
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Ascent Aerospace to produce largest-ever wing skin tool for Boeing 777X
Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Coast Composites LLC, an Ascent Tooling Group company, was awarded a contract by The Boeing Company to manufacture the largest-ever wing skin molds. Ascent will produce a set of lay-up tooling, consisting of four individual molds, to be used at Boeing's new facility in Everett, Washington, to manufacture the 777X's composite wing skins.

Coast Composites will manufacture the molds with its modular tool building system, based on the company's patented laser welding technology and proven on previous wing skin mold builds. Tooling segments will be manufactured of Invar, a specialty steel alloy selected to match the thermal expansion properties of the composite material used for the wing skin. Invar segments small enough to transport on conventional roads will be shipped to Everett then assembled onsite. After welding in Everett, the final wing skin tools will measure over 110 feet long and up to 21 feet wide and weigh approximately 80,000 pounds each.

According to Paul Walsh, President and COO of Ascent Tooling Group. “As aircraft evolve, our capabilities, designs and processes have advanced to meet new challenges. We developed our innovative modular tool building system to accommodate the ever-increasing size of aircraft tooling.”

Coast Composites has previously built 26 wing skin molds. With each project the company has built on its reputation to deliver technically-challenging and schedule-critical tooling.

Contact details from our directory:
Ascent Aerospace North America Computer-aided Design, Fastening Tools, Moulds, Additive Manufacturing, Machining Systems, Materials Handling Equipment, Plant Automation Equipment, Remote Positioning Systems, Robotics & Automation Consultants, Systems Integration, Riveting Equipment, Jigs & Fixtures, Tooling, Waterjet Equipment, Work Platforms, Work Stands, Engine Tooling, Mandrels, Milling, Workholding Fixtures, Composite Moulding, Final Assembly
Related aircraft programs:
Boeing 777
Related directory sectors:
Tooling