ATR Tray Selection and Integration

[rigarc00]

I'm new to the industry and was looking for general information regarding ATR Trays. In the current project that I'm working we have a very tight schedule that we need to meet for test flights and most manufacturers need from 7-9 weeks to engineer and machine the trays. I have tried various manufacturers and none have the tray size i need "off-the-shelf" and thus development time and cost have pushed our schedule.

My question for all experienced Avionics gurus is what is a typical avionics integration timeline like? By this i'm refereing to what is a typical timeframe that it takes an ATR'ed piece of equipment to go from design to actual flight-ready condition(manufacturing, integration, and testing). Also, in trying to understand the long lead times i was given, what good does ARINC 404 standards do for integration if trays are re-engineered everytime? Maybe i'm stuck with a particular ATR Box that is fairly uncommon (1-ATR short-short). In retrospect integration should be an element that needs to be address when purchasing the ATR Box, particularly in a time critical project.

I would like to hear your suggestions and experiences.

 

[der8110]

Your tray would be considered an uncommon size. The standards are there so everyone speaks the same language, not a guarantee of being stocked.

Being new to the industry, this will be the first of many episodes you will experience where program management is not what it should be. Schedules are rarely picked on experience. If you can get a rack built in 7-9 weeks, take it! That is fast for anything not on a shelf or in current production, even considering a crystal-clear spec like ARINC 404.

Some short-term suggestions ar to find a used rack for test, or modify a longer one to fit. You don't need the exact final configuration to prove the avionics works.

 

[IRstuff]

Agreed. Presumably, you should be able to machine an adapter from your unit to a larger tray in shorter time.

TTFN

FAQ731-376