AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE

The challenges are many. Some are not new, but take on a new meaning in the era of international collaboration that lies before us. When the digital mock-up has been configured, the integration of business systems for components with a long life cycle or the use of new materials such as composites leads to significant changes in the way aeronautical programmes are controlled. This is reinforced by the fact that risk-sharing between partners (equipment manufacturers and systems suppliers) is changing and that contracts entered into often cover long periods of the programme's life cycle.

New governance challenges

Running such programmes requires creating, modifying and tracking a very high volume of data, whilst at the same time ensuring impeccable contractual and technical visibility and control. This is even more true of the critical part played by subcontractors in programme development (up to 70% of the final cost of the product). The rationalisation of development practices, accessibility and the sharing of product data at the right level are more and more essential to ensure that these programmes run smoothly.

New partner and supplier management challenges

Market globalisation and system specialisation lead to a redeployment of sub-contracting and modes of engagement (risk-sharing, fixed-price design-and-build contracts). Such outsourcing of complete complex work packages requires a major upgrading of collaborative platforms for the development of the final product and the involvement of the contracting parties throughout the development cycle.

Integration and synthesis challenges

Since the nineties, we have seen the emergence of digital mock-ups, for example on Dassault Aviation's BOEING 777 and RAFALE programmes.

These digital mock-ups are becoming the product development benchmark and a powerful programme management tool. They must therefore incorporate an increasing number of features and it must be possible for them to be shared amongst the various product engineering stakeholder companies:

• Structuring features: design-version management, issue management, project scenario outlines, online sharing with subcontractors
• Content features: support for new representations to ensure the spatial and functional integrity of the digital mock-up throughout the life cycle.

Pluridisciplinary design challenges

Designing for the aeronautical, space or defence industry involves the development of complex mechatronic systems and the integration of an on-board software dimension that is becoming increasingly important.

Realistic simulation challenges

The issue of realistic simulation is fundamental. In the aeronautical and defence industry, design errors have critical human and financial consequences. Simulation models are increasingly being sought to ensure that such consequences are avoided, whilst material costs are optimised. The problem requires a multiphysics simulation platform that can support calculations in the fields of mechanical strength and fatigue and control factors such as temperature and the heterogeneity of the materials used.

In this way, we can avoid building very expensive physical mock-ups and continue to shorten cycle and development times.

Manufacturing and support challenges

The manufacturing schedule and the feasibility estimate of support operations is a challenge that is always difficult to overcome, due to increasing product variance and the growing number of technical modifications that arise as the programme progresses.

The integration of business systems, from design to manufacturing, for all types of components is a practice that all the industry players, equipment manufacturers, systems suppliers or component subcontractors, are endeavouring to optimise. The development of manufacturing or assembly processes directly within the PLM system is therefore becoming an industrial practice that will have to be controlled.

Quality challenges

PLM offers attractive solutions to each of the previously described challenges. Moreover, rather than considering these challenges separately, the Dassault Systèmes PLM solutions distributed and implemented by Keonys provide a single platform for structuring, rationalising and standardising in one database the various practices to be implemented, allowing each of these processes to use the product data.

Programme management solutions

• For managing contracts
• For managing programme execution
• For managing programme requirements (customer/standards requirements, etc.)
• For managing product configuration.

Supplier management solutions

• For managing RFPs / RFQs
• For managing supplier qualification
• For managing standard parts and supply conditions.

Configured digital mock-up management solutions

• For managing all the different types of products
• For managing assembly/disassembly simulations, kinematics
• For managing the physical integrity of the mock-up (interference control)
• For managing issues and design reviews.

Pluridisciplinary design solutions - designing the different types of assemblies in a digital mock-up context

• Mechanical parts (machined components, bowed sheet metal, etc.)
• Composite assemblies (with CATIA and our partners MAGESTIC and SIMULAYT)
• Optimisation loops by transparent analysis
• Electrical systems (3D wiring) and electrical diagram with our partner (ELSYS)
• Hydraulic systems
• Mechanical systems, physical device modelling
• Connection to electronic systems and on-board software.

Product simulation solutions

• Flight load simulation
• Internal load simulation
• Dynamic simulation
• Multiphysics simulation
• Force analysis
• Kinematics
• Dedicated simulation in the case of composites

Manufacturing and maintenance solutions

• Manufacturing simulation
• Manufacturing processes
• Assembly processes
• Manufacturing and maintenance tool design and optimisation
• Maintainability analysis
• Support product design

The Dassault Systèmes PLM platform makes it possible to create, implement and manage a global method of introducing new, innovative products into the marketplace. It improves:

• the definition quality of your product portfolio
• the conformity of these products to functional, technical and regulatory requirements
• the flexibility, modularity and portability of the engineering studies and production equipment to be deployed with all the organisations impacted in the extended company
• the effectiveness of the NPI (New Product Introduction) and NPD (New Product Development) processes.

In order to reduce development times and costs, as well as the risks inherent in accelerating the TTM (Time to Market) and to control the risks associated with service and warranty packages.

Keonys has developed a special relationship with numerous customers in the Aeronautical sector. Most of our technical consultants have participated in many projects involving the implementation of PLM tools. They work for manufacturers such as ATR or GECI SkyAircraft and major top-ranking subcontractors such as ZODIAC Aerospace or Latecoere, as well as for maintenance companies such as AIR FRANCE Industries or SABENA Technics.

The consultants are experts in various business practices and can help you via various types of consultancy or operational activities to:

• Define a PLM roadmap and an implementation strategy
• Implement or adapt your PLM information system and measure its impact on your working methods by maintaining an overall view and consistency to ensure the scalability and sustainability of the changes introduced
• Specify innovative business solutions by taking account of the most successful CAD practices such as "generative" part design methodologies (based on parametric 3D, the knowledge and incorporation of professional rules into your designs) and then implementing them on actual cases with your product development teams
• Develop special tools that allow you to automate certain design-to-manufacturing systems associated with composite systems, sheet metal, tubing, electrical wiring or assembly, for example.

Our teams also have the required experience to help you with your post-deployment support or change management activities via pilot studies / demonstrations or training programmes appropriate to your PLM context.