L3Harris
Canvas Category OEM : Defense
In a fast moving and increasingly complex world, L3Harris is anticipating and rapidly responding to challenges with agile technology – creating a safer world and more secure future.
Assembly Line
Launch of Smart Manufacturing Cell Transforms Rochester Operations
L3Harris is driving toward fully controlled and paced production of tactical radios with the launch of its first Smart Manufacturing Cell in its Rochester, New York, facilities, which streamlines assembly processes so the company can continue to meet customer demands and delivery schedules for critical communication devices.
The answer to the company’s current and future needs was the implementation of Smart Manufacturing Cell production. SMC is an Industry 4.0-level assembly process where control technologies, such as LightGuide augmented reality, Mountz precision torque drivers and Cognex® machine vision inspection, are integrated into one common platform by WorkSmart Systems. This capability delivers a line-agnostic station where different products with the same process can be built without requiring device-specific configurations when switching between production lines. Further, the system itself collects data including who worked on a specific unit and at what time for troubleshooting and root-cause analysis of potential defects found later in internal testing.
Eliminating Defects with AR Technology
L3Harris Technologies implemented LightGuide AR software to ensure standardization across a variety of complex processes. Following the implementation of LightGuide on a line with 17 variants of one product, visually guided workflows helped consolidate parts, which eliminated changeover per variant and resulted in zero assembly-related defects. Since these results, L3Harris has implemented LightGuide on complex manual lines at multiple locations.
According to one Engineering Manager at the L3Harris, the system uses infrared and 3D sensing to know where an operator’s hand is within an inch in any direction. The cues highlighting what pieces go where allow operators to focus on the task at hand, not where they are in the process; further, the system will notify the operator via visual cues and messaging and stop instruction if they skip a step or reach for the wrong component.
Defense Contractor L3Harris Plans to Buy Aerojet Rocketdyne for $4.7 Billion
Defense firm L3Harris Technologies Inc. said it agreed to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. in a $4.7 billion deal that would cement L3Harris’s role as one of six prime defense contractors for the Pentagon. Aerojet is a major maker of engines used in missiles, such as the Javelin deployed in Ukraine. Its products also help power National Aeronautics and Space Administration rockets and U.S. military hypersonic systems designed to deter China’s military expansion. Aerojet was put back up for sale after federal regulators in January sued to block its planned $4.4 billion purchase by Lockheed Martin Corp. on antitrust grounds, sparking a bitter internal board battle.