The first of several giant machine tools to automate fuselage skin panel assembly for the U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III airlifter has been installed and is now in operation at Boeing facilities. The machine is a Torres Mill, a 5-axis computer numerically controlled trimming and drilling machine. It can trim and drill skin panels as long as 40 feet and as wide as 12 feet, with a curvature of up to 3 feet. It is capable of trimming panels at a rate of up to 400 inches a minute. "This new machine, and the others that will follow, will allow us to satisfy our Air Force customer with the highest-quality product at a reduced cost, while allowing us to increase our production rate," said Bill Gendron, deputy C-17 program manager at Boeing.