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The economic determination to introduce automated/mechanized operations into the airframe assembly process is complex. Any one or all of the primary elements associated with airframe assembly requires that the current process of placing, drilling, countersinking, sealing and fastening parts by hand be compared with the economic value of changing to automation. A systematic cost analysis will be used to identify the equilibrium point where value is added by inserting automation technology into the airframe assembly manufacturing process. Components will be defined and utilized to provide the resource boundary, production possibility frontier, demand curve, elasticity of demand and the cross elasticity of demand for substitutes between hand drilling and automation.

Aerospace assembly operations are still highly dependent on human labor and processes. This paper will describe and illustrate the transformational technologies that will enable replication of the human cognitive (in context) textural ability to assemble airplane and space structure. The paper will also provide use case examples where these innovative technologies have been applied successfully. Without context, data are just dots, floating around without meaning. With context data becomes an enlightened component of knowledge that brings value to information. In-context enlightened knowledge provides manufacturing visibility within factory operations. Visibility is a key component of the Smart, Brilliant, or Intelligent Factory.