Aerobloggen

Hi, I’m back!

This week I’m extra thankful for being back in more southern parts of Sweden. Friends in Luleå reported the first 4 decimeters (you’ll have to translate it yourself) of slushy snow while I was enjoying my morning coffee in the sun.

After on-boarding, workshop practice and teambuilding we have soon completed the third week in what will be the greater part of our traineeprogram, our rotations on-site in Trollhättan. The first 10 weeks everyone will be spending at their home department before exploring new departments based on personal interest and opportunities. My home department is at Strategy & Business Innovation which is a part of Business Line Engines meaning that we work globally to support all of our 14 Engine sites even though the team currently is based in Trollhättan. My first rotation consists of two parts. One of them is working on the yearly plan for Engines and the activities the company must perform to meet the requirements towards owners, government, customers and employees. The other one is working with the digitalization team towards a conceptual factory of tomorrow and a cost estimation based on the function we forecast will be crucial.

First few weeks has been a lot about meeting people in different departments of the company, gaining an understanding of the strategy work and abbreviations everywhere. The welcoming has been great and it’s amazing that every person we meet takes time to talk about their role and surprisingly often they have a connection to the trainee program. Additionally, Robin (2020-trainee) have tricked Elias and myself to start playing padel tennis, we’ll see how long my knees will withhold.

The first rotation has barely started but it’s about time to start thinking about what department we would like to spend our next rotation on. But we will have to talk more about that in another post.

Are you interested in the Traineeprogram or just curious about what we’re doing in Trollhättan? Come by our digital showcase at Armada and we’ll take it from there!

Take care!

/Alex

Hello Hello!

Mid-October is here and autumn is making its entrance again. The leaves are changing colors on the trees, the days get shorter, and the rain pours down in copious amounts. Dull times according to many – but persevere, because soon it will be Christmas.

To break away from everyday life, we trainees have spent two days at Bohusgården Hotell & Konferens (aka coffee, sweets and ice cream in large quantities) in Uddevalla. These two days have been gilded by sunlight and a focus on development, both individually and as a group. During the first day, we got to know each other better through exercises linked to group dynamics. We were also visited by Christopher Sörensen from HR who helped us identify and discuss the group’s individual and common strengths. In the evening, spa and good food awaited, as well as a few intense rounds of billiards and shuffle board.

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The second day began with a case to practice our ability to solve problems in groups. After that, we discussed our and the company’s goals and expectations for the trainee program. We were also visited by Fredrik Wallin and Peter Stommendal from the Strategy department, who presented GKN Aerospace Engine’s overall strategy and vision, which put our future work in a larger context.

It was two very fun and intense days where we, among other things, learned many new things about each other. Now we will continue our first rotation and next week there will be a post from Alexander about his time within the Strategy department.

See you later!

Ps. Are you looking for a master thesis? Do not forget to view the project proposals offered by us at GKN Aerospace in Trollhättan here!

Hello everyone!

For the past two weeks, we have had workshop practice. We have all observed individual parts and their journey through the flow of operations here at GKN Aerospace in Trollhättan. Today was the final day of the workshop practice and we presented our learnings from the weeks to each other. Below is a brief description of our experience.

Elias: I spent my introductory workshop period at the Rotatives department in the X-workshop, where I followed the production sequence of an LPC (Low Pressure Compressor). The LPC is one of the first steps of a conventional jet engine, with the purpose of initializing the compression of air before the following engine parts. Rotating parts of a jet engine usually have strict requirements when it comes to tolerances, so through this workshop period, I had the opportunity to see the methods that GKN Aerospace use to accomplish these requirements. The manufacturing process included conventional machining, such as milling and lathing, but also included more advanced metallurgical control and measuring methods. In conclusion, it was very insightful to have the opportunity to observe part of GKN’s operations and see what some of the challenges are in a manufacturing process.

Emelie: During my time in the workshop, I had the opportunity to follow a product called 30k TEC. The name does not really say much initially, but 30k is a name used for motors that generate a thrust of around 30 000 lbf, or approximately 135 kN, and TEC stands for Turbine Exhaust Case, which means that it is located after the turbine in the engine. During my time in the workshop I saw the product transform from just a box of components to a finished product, which has been a lot of fun! Before this, I had never set foot in a workshop, but thanks to this experience I know a lot more about what it is like to work in a workshop. Every day I got to follow a new process, and I have learned about everything from welding and X-ray to turning and milling.

Alexander: The last two weeks I’ve spent at Structures in the C-shop. I had the opportunity to follow XWB, a large static part that resides in the Trent XWB (Rolls-Royce) engine, powering the A350-900. The part is welded together from smaller sections and if that was not cool enough, LMD (Laser Metal Deposition) is utilized to build up the profile. It has been a great opportunity to meet co-workers and gain a better understanding about the products produced in Trollhättan.

Merim: During my workshop practice I’ve been assigned to the RM12 engine, which powers Sweden’s own Gripen fighter jet. I’ve previously never seen an RM12 engine, in fact I’ve never seen a jet engine except for pictures, and to see one in reality was a real experience! I have got the privilege to see all the individual components that are inside, which all contribute to the successful operation of the engine. I am glad for getting the opportunity of seeing an RM12 engine, it has been immensely fun and I am very grateful for everything I have learned by the best within the field of RM12.

Moa: During my workshop practice I have been with the department Spools and Special Processes and followed the part LM2500. LM2500 is a part that is not used in aviation, as LM stands for Land & Marine. The part is a spool covering step 3-9 in a gas turbine compressor and is a rotating part with strict tolerances. It has been very interesting to follow the production flow of the part as it moves diligently through the plant and I have learned a lot about different processes used here in Trollhättan.

In conclusion, it has been a very rewarding time, and we are all extremely grateful to everyon that has taken the time to guide us and help us understand what they are working with! We are now looking forward starting our first rotation.