COMPOSITES DESIGN

Materiaux_Composites

Composite materials allow reductions in object mass, production of complex shapes, reduction of equipment costs, and improvements in fatigue strength as well as resistance to corrosion and high temperatures. Their increasing use in industry gives rise to some particular problems: creating a structure from composites is not straightforward, particularly considering the high raw material costs and manufacturing complexity.

Manufacturers are faced with numerous challenges: competitive engineering systems and the reduction in cycles; collaboration between the departments involved; information transfer between design projects; design calculations and digital mock-up; anticipation of manufacturing problems so as to minimise recycle loops and reduce the risk of errors; integration with manufacturing applications. The Composites solution from Dassault Systèmes and integrated partners is oriented around the design, simulation and composite structure manufacture processes on a single virtual platform, enabling these challenges to be met.

Product description

CATIA - Composites Design 3 (CPD) is an advanced solution centred on the composites process, allowing manufacturers - whether in the aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding or consumer goods sectors - to reduce the time needed for designing composites parts. It provides tools covering both the preliminary and detailed design phases, while taking into account the constraints of the material and its physical characteristics, even at the concept stage. Thanks to its powerful synchronisation mechanisms, CPD forms the critical link between engineering design and manufacture.

CATIA - Composites Design 3 (CPD) provides a unique solution for powerful composites design with all the advantages of the CATIA V5 architecture: native integration, Knowledgeware capabilities throughout, and the ease-of-use of CATIA V5.

CPD consists of two products, CPE and CPM, allowing workstations to be specialised.

CATIA - Composites Engineering (CPE)
CATIA - Composites Design for Manufacturing (CPM)

Product strengths

PRE-PROJECT

The ease with which the 'zones' and 'transition zones' (geometry and laminate) method can be used allows creation of the solid, the upper surface and the plies geometry, while respecting the rules for design stacks, and aids technology selection decisions by means of loops with calculation well in advance.

DETAILED DESIGN

Easy access to materials' properties and attributes
Powerful tools for modelling plies (3D modification functionality specifically for plies),
Generation of an exact solid through draping allows digital mock-ups to be reviewed.
Composites inspection tool (for sampling, digital analysis, draping view, etc.)
Draping simulation tools that allow production problems to be taken into account from the design phase. Advanced simulation tools such as AFM from Simulayt Ltd are also available
Using Composites Link, the bi-directional bridge from Simulayt Ltd, the exact characteristics of the part can be transferred with the most widespread calculation tools, without tiresome and error-prone re-keying.

DETAILED DESIGN MANUFACTURE

A model specifically for manufacturing enables return from elastic deformation to be taken into account, and allows definition of margins and roller widths.
The precise fibre behaviour simulation allows creation of the automatic flattening process.
CPD is also the main means of propagating digital data, since it can export the data to the production facilities.
Using TruNEST from Magestic Systems Inc removes the necessity to use neutral formats for managing nesting of flattening processes.
TruLASER View from Magestic Systems Inc allows you to drive all your laser machines directly with a single CATIA V5 graphical interface
Automatic creation of production documentation
Propagation of design modifications using a powerful synchronisation mechanism.

Working with Keonys

Keonys can provide software solutions and services adapted to your needs:

Training using standard courses or specifically tailored for your issues.
Deployment projects for methodology optimisations, putting methodologies into their environment at each stage of the manufacturing process.
Software that accelerates the interactions between design and computation offices - Composites Link from Simulayt Ltd.
Advanced draping simulation software - Advanced Fiber Modeler from Simulayt Ltd.
Products for direct communication with cutting and laser projection machines - TruNEST and TruLASER View from Magestic Systems Inc.