Bending Limits, Soaring Together

The Davi and A&T Aerospace Collaboration

Story overview

As the A&T Group, we are a reliable partner in the fields of CNC-supported metal processing, intralogistics services, and the development of customized Industry 4.0 solutions. We offer our customers complete solutions: from material procurement and logistics to manufacturing and delivery.

Website

www.a-t-group.de/

Location

Germany

Industry

Aircraft & Helicopters

Uncompromising Dimensions and Complex Geometry

A&T needed to produce and re-roll vital structural components for the Airbus A319 and A320, including critical keel beams and emergency exits. These parts are central to the structural integrity and passenger safety of the aircraft.

Two primary factors made this project particularly demanding:

The Slenderness Challenge: The workpieces required exceptionally long, slender machinery. The rolls needed to span 10 meters (approx. 32.8 feet) in length, yet maintain an incredibly small roll diameter of just 100 mm (approx. 3.9 inches). This extreme ratio meant standard bending technology would suffer from severe deflection, compromising precision.
Variable Sheet Thicknesses: Many of the aerospace parts featured machine-milled pockets. These pockets created significant, sudden variations in plate thickness across a single sheet of metal, making standard uniform rolling processes obsolete.

The Solution

Custom Engineering and MAV Variable Axis Technology

To meet A&T’s strict requirements, Davi engineered a customized MAV 3-Roll Variable Axis plate rolling machine.

By utilizing variable-axis geometry, the MAV system allows for individual, horizontal movement of both side rolls alongside vertical movement of the top roll. For A&T, this system was customized to handle the extreme 10-meter span with a 100 mm diameter top roll, balancing high mechanical rigidity with specialized supporting systems to eliminate structural deflection during operation.

Furthermore, the MAV system was paired with our high-precision control architecture, enabling the operators to easily interpolate variable parameters to accommodate sheets with milled pockets.

The Results

Handling Variable Thicknesses

The variable geometry of the MAV system allowed the rolls to seamlessly adapt to the uneven thickness profiles of sheets containing machined pockets. This guaranteed a highly uniform curve across the entire width of the part without manual shimming.

From Minutes to Seconds

Bending and re-rolling these specialized parts became a highly optimized, automated workflow. The transition from program selection to a finished component was reduced to a fraction of the original manufacturing time, with actual rolling taking only seconds per part.

Operator Autonomy

Because the variable-axis geometry can be adjusted to match complex shapes, A&T operators gained the flexibility to solve a wide variety of bending and re-rolling challenges on a single machine. The setup minimized reliance on highly specialized manual craftsmanship, standardizing the final output.

Aerospace manufacturing operates under some of the most unforgiving tolerances in modern engineering. When shaping structural elements for commercial aircraft, there is no margin for error. Every curve, every transition, and every dimension must meet microscopic standards of accuracy.

This was the exact landscape when Davi partnered with A&T, one of the most prominent suppliers in the German aeronautic sector. The challenge at hand was to develop a high-precision rolling process capable of fabricating critical structural parts for the commercial passenger flight market.

A Milestone in Aerospace Innovation
This project stands as a testament to Davi's co-engineering capabilities. Working alongside A&T’s aerospace specialists, Davi's Research and Development team designed, tested, and delivered a solution that pushed the physical boundaries of slenderness in metal forming. Today, this customized MAV system helps secure the structural foundations of Airbus aircraft flying worldwide, demonstrating that even the most extreme geometry can be controlled with the right engineering partnership.