473 Lean Development of the Future Actuator  

Mathias Burkhalter*, Matthias Schulke**, Beny Wüthrich* and Oliver Kunz* 

Abstract  

The increasing commercial pressure on the market is something that  is generally seen by companies  whether in the space business or not. As a result of this , companies have to adapt their development  strategies to remain competitive in the future. However, the space industry is bound to strict rules,  regulations and requirements that do not just allow the deletion of processes and r educing product prices  with the risk of reduced quality.  Therefore,  RUAG is exploring a new industrial approach for space   mechanisms development. The approach has three cornerstones. One is the early and deep involvement  of the suppliers  in new development s, the second is the set -up of the development logic itself , and the third  is to have an extensive concept phase. This paper describes the development and b readboard test s of the  Future Actuat or performed by RUAG  Switzerland together with Harmonic Drive AG Germany.  

Introduction  

RUAG Space in Zürich has an important footprint in the aerospace  business  and especially  in the field of  space mechanisms. RUAG ’s mechanisms portfolio covers a wide range from actuators, solar array drive  mechanisms , antenna  and thruster -pointing mechanisms  up to multi- functional mechanisms  for scientific  instrument s. RUAG has highly skilled employees and is known for its quality and schedule reliability . Still  RUAG has to cope with the relatively high cost  base in Switzerland  and the currently unfavorable  exchange  rate of the Swiss Franc . In order to increase the competitiveness and secure the position in the market ,  RUAG Space has to be more efficient than other companies outside Switzerland. Therefore,  RUAG is  constantly working on improvements in all fields. One of the inputs leading to the idea for the development  approach used for the Future Actuator  evolved from a story  about the development of the Pratt & Whitney  PT6 propeller turbine  [5] where a small  team  developed a revolutionary propeller turbine in a short time.  One of the key element s for the success was the team consisting of  young team members combined  with  experienced ones.  In the end,  the team built the turbine the “wrong way ” around into the aircraft ( inverse  turbine airflow  to flight direction) which is not the first and logic al solution but has some significant  advantages. Out of this story,  the idea arose to set up  a team  that shall develop a new unconventional  solution wit hout being influenced and limited by exi sting rules.  At the same time as this idea for the  alternative development approach came up, RUAG started to think  about a successor of the established  SARA21 actuator, which is currently a very attractive product on the market. Consequently,  the two  objectives were combined and the “ Future Actuator Project ” was born.  

Equipment development in the space business, in most cases, is done in collaboration with a customer.  Both si des profit from this approach as t he customer gets a product developed exactly to his  needs and the  supplier can reduce risks and expect some funding for the development . For very specific developments  like instruments for scien tific satellites, this is in  most cases  is the best strategy . For products  which after  the development  allow a wider  customer  base, the co -funding for developments has the risk that the launch  customer may influence the development too  strongly. In the past , customer  expectations and  interventions  sometimes led to an increased effort, and caused schedule and cost impact s. Therefore, the lean  development approach deployed for the Future Actuator is a viable alternative to co- developments with  customers. For the Future Actuator RUAG dec ided to perform the entire development on an internal   Research and Development budget and,  even more,  without the involvement of a specific customer. Except                                                    * RUAG Space, Zurich, Switzerland   ** Harmonic Drive AG, Limburg, Germany  

Proceedings of the 43rd Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium, NASA Ames Research Center, May 4-6, 2016