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MAG Industrial Automation Systems (Erlanger, Kentucky) has received a $7 million order from Lockheed Martin (Bethesda, Maryland) for two six-axis, CNC-controlled AutoDrill systems for use at the aerospace manufacturer’s Marietta, Georgia Plant. Scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2011, the automated drilling and trimming systems will be employed for operations on the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter’s center wing assembly.

The machines will use a surface-detecting pressure foot to drill and countersink thousands of fastener holes in complex, contoured surfaces comprised of stacked composite materials, aluminum and titanium. The turnkey order includes installation, startup and training, and it marks the fourth and fifth MAG AutoDrill systems sold to Lockheed (the other three are located at the company’s Fort Worth, Texas plant).

Another recently received order is for two HyperMach H4000 five-axis horizontal profilers and associated auxiliary equipment. The machines will support production of Shanghai Aircraft’s new ARJ21, the first passenger jet to be developed and produced indigenously by the People’s Republic of China. The order comes as China continues to develop a competitive commercial aerospace manufacturing sector. Scheduled for installation in the first quarter of 2011, the machines will operate in an automated cell featuring a rail-guided vehicle, load/unload station, pallets and auxiliary equipment that will sequentially load and unload parts to maximize throughput.