Video Arms for Large Monitors in B747 and B777 Business Class
Aircraft: Boeing 747 and Boeing 777
Application: Business Class
Existing solution: None
Situation: The customer needed an arm designed within eight weeks or less for their business-class seats. In addition to deploying a large monitor, the arm had to fit into a very tight space, and had to partially deploy automatically from the center console.
Design considerations: Limited console space, large monitor, very short lead time.
What we did to solve it: S&S Numerical Control worked with the existing envelope supplied by the seat manufacturer to design a new video arm inside a CAD model of their seat. The
computer model was submitted to the seat vendor so they could see the arm integrated into
their seat. The ability to exchange engineering data in this way saved valuable time, allowing changes to be made rapidly in virtual mode before building physical prototypes. With S&S variable-clutch technology, the arm was able to spring easily out of the console and then be moved upwards with minimal force, remaining firmly in position once fully deployed. The airline operator was very satisfied and promptly ordered arms for their entire B777 fleet. The seat vendor was satisfied as well and ordered the same S&S design for seats installed in the B747 fleet of another airline customer.
