Design News for Mechanical and Design Engineers

For the competition, and also for an on-going affordability initiative demonstration, Boeing created a design, simulation and collaboration environment using integrated product teams (IPTs). The airframe IPT, led by Mark Rosenberger, JSF Air Vehicle Structures & System manager, heads up the work. Individual IPTs are responsible for design to manufacture of major aircraft sections. Each team has the resources and skills to design and deliver its entire portion. In addition, analysis and integration teams work with all the IPTs to make sure interfaces and requirements are consistent within and between teams.

The X-32A has completed flight testing and has demonstrated conventional take-off and landing for the U.S. Air Force, and aircraft carrier approach requirements for the U.S. Navy. The X-32B will soon demonstrate short takeoff and vertical landing for the U.S. Marine Corps.

As the project progressed, Boeing brought suppliers, both domestic and international (in this case, mainly located in the UK and The Netherlands) into the collaborative framework. Under the name of One Team, all participants are peers sharing and contributing to the JSF. Representatives of the U.S. government also take part.

Rosenberger says, "One Team strengthens the project by bringing everyone's input together. The system enables simultaneous collaboration." Collaboration takes place through frequent video-teleconferences in which up to 26 different locations can share data in real time. "Strong encryption between the sites makes sure our sessions are secure," Rosenberger says.

Collaboration also takes place over the Internet. Currently, One Team members at all the different sites can access product data over the Internet. Because everyone uses common web tools, very few technology changes were needed by the participating companies. "If we modify a design, the change can be posted on the common site, and everyone involved can pull up the data, see the changes, and act accordingly," Rosenberger says.

The JSF will be used by all three services and their counterparts in the United Kingdom.

The engineers conduct remote liaison with manufacturing via hand-held cameras hooked up to wearable computers with video feed-back. The designers can see problems, and mark up changes on a smart-board so that the factory has instant engineering information.

The teams use simulation at every step. Starting with 3D solid definitions of every component, the teams use a number of analysis tools and simulate everything from design to manufacturing and maintenance. "When we assembled the actual aircraft, it was as if were building it for the third or fourth time," Rosenberger says.

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Solid Edge unifies facilities ALSTOM Power Inc. (Windsor, CT) designs power plant boilers and heat recovery steam generation units in Connecticut, Indonesia, Australia, and Italy. The Indonesian site also does some manufacturing, and additional manufacturing gets outsourced in the U.S., Korea, and Europe. According to Long Van Dang, a principal engineer for the company, coordination is a challenge—not the least in design. ALSTOM Power blends Excel data, a Solid Edge Model and 2D drawings into a single package to help offshore design and manufacturing groups produce 3D designs of power-plant components. "To design and build economically for the power industry, you have to be able to use a design through five or six different jobs. Quality is the most important single factor for us, though speed also matters. Lead times keep getting shorter, and the penalties for being late keep going up," he says. Until recently, every design facility used AutoCAD 2D for design. "They still use it for drawings," he says, "but now we are standardizing on Solid Edge to design from the core of our products outward. For outsourced manufacturing, however, we still have to transfer the designs to AutoCAD." To make it possible for offshore design groups and outsourced manufacturing facilities to use the designs, they blend Excel data, the Solid Edge model, and 2D drawings into a single package to send via e-mail to the offshore groups. Success stories Company: The Boeing Company Product: X-32A and X-32B demonstrator aircraft (Boeing entry in the competition to build the Joint Strike Fighter) Location of design team: Seattle, St. Louis, Palmdale (CA), the UK and The Netherlands International markets for product: U.S., UK, Western Europe CAD software: CATIA and Unigraphics U.S. and UK military specifications met Biggest design challenges: collaboration between users of CATIA and Unigraphics, solved by model transfer using the STEP protocol Key to success: One Team collaboration process saves time and cost Company: Jaguar Racing Product: Formula 1 race car Location of design team: Milton Keynes, UK International markets for product: Team races in Europe, Australia, Malaysia and Brazil CAD/CAM/PDM software: Unigraphics International standards met: meets international automobile sports racing standards Biggest design challenges: very quick iterative design and manufacturing schedule Key to success: Integrated CAD/CAM/PDM sponsorship enables engineering, manufacturing and tracking of several chassis designs every season for a 200-mph race car. Company: Target Chip Ganassi Racing Product: Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) race car Location of design team: Indianapolis, with partners in Los Angeles, Japan, and United Kingdom International markets for product: Team races in U.S., Canada, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Mexico, England, and Germany CAD software: CATIA International standards met: meets international automobile sports racing standards Biggest design challenges: creating designs that can be manufactured anywhere Key to success: CATIA design exchange with major partners (chassis-maker LOLA in the UK and Toyota in Japan)