The Laser beam welding (LBW) process has been successfully introduced for joining stringers to the skin of Airbus aeroplanes. Stringers are stiffeners in flight direction of the aeroplane, in the past, they were riveted to the skin. At present, these joints are laser beam welded on several panels of the A318 and A380, Bild 1. It is planned to use this method for the A340, too. Airbus plants with LBW equipment are located in Germany and France, where the methods for quality assurance and especially non-destructive testing (NDT) have been developed.
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