ADVANCED CAD INTEGRATED SOFTWARE FOR THE COSTEFFECTIVEDESIGN AND MANUFACTURING OFCOMPOSITE STRUCTURES

摘要

When engineers have all the design data they need, they make informed decisions thatresult in optimum product designs. However, the information that product engineers use resides in manyrepositories and takes many forms. Hence, engineers facing compressed development cycles must oftenmake decisions without the benefit of complete information, with the ensuing risks of manufacturingproblems, cost overruns, and failed products.Software from VISTAGY provides engineers with tools that tackle the challenge of capturing andcommunicating a complete product definition. A good example is FiberSIM? software, a specializedenvironment for composite design that operates right inside the CAD system.Using FiberSIM, aerospace engineers have recently achieved dramatic results while creating innovativedesigns for composite parts. For example: Raytheon lowered structural weight 20% and reduced shopfloor changes by 80% on the Premier 1 business jet, Sikorsky cut change orders by 90% on the S-92Helibus, Bombardier Aerospace reduced the time needed to create complex parts by 75% on the CRJ 700regional jet.To produce laminated composite parts, engineers must evaluate not only geometric data (ply center ofgravity, shape, thickness), but also non-geometric data (material type, weight) for each ply of a partcomposed of tens or hundreds of layers. FiberSIM captures this complex part design data associativelywithin the CAD model. FiberSIM’s simulation tools show whether the composite part will undergowrinkling or other material deformation during manufacturing. What engineers once learned only bycostly trial and error during physical lay-up can now be identified and remedied in virtual iterations thatare a fraction of the cost. The software also automates error-free transfers of manufacturing data to fiberplacement equipment, nesting software, cutting machines, and laser projection systems.Practical case studies from the aerospace and automotive industry highlight how composite engineering isimproved. Risks, cost, -and development cycle times are reduced through the use of these new simulationdrivensoftware tools.