Design Wi hin Complex En i onmen s:
Collabo a i e Enginee ing
in he Ae ospace Indus y
Fe nando Mas , José Luis Menéndez , Manuel Oli a , Ja ie Se an ,
Rebeca A is a , and Ca melo del Valle
Abs ac The design and he indus ializa ion o an ai c a , a majo componen , o
an ae os uc u e is a complex p ocess. An ai c a like he Ai bus A400M is com-
posed o abou 700,000 pa s (excluding s anda d pa s). The pa s a e assembled
in o ae os uc u es and majo componen s, which a e designed and manu ac u ed in
se e al coun ies all o e he wo ld. The in oduc ion o new P oduc Li ecycle
Managemen (PLM) me hodologies, p ocedu es and ools, and he need o educe
ime- o-ma ke , led Ai bus Mili a y o pu sue new wo king me hods o deal wi h
complexi y. Collabo a i e Enginee ing p omo es eamwo k o de elop p oduc , p o-
cesses and esou ces om he concep ual phase o he s a o he se ial p oduc ion.
This pape in oduces he main concep s o Collabo a i e Enginee ing as a new
me hodology, p ocedu es and ools o design and de elop an ai c a , as Ai bus
Mili a y is implemen ing. To make a P oo o Concep (PoC), a pilo p ojec ,
CALIPSOneo, was launched o suppo he unc ional and indus ial design p ocess
o a medium size ae os uc u e. The aim is o implemen he indus ial Digi al
Mock-Up (iDMU) concep and i s exploi a ion o c ea e shop l oo documen a ion.
Keywo ds Collabo a i e enginee ing • iDMU (indus ial Digi al Mock-Up) •
PLM (P oduc Li ecycle Managemen ) sys ems
F. Mas ( *) • J. L. Menéndez • M. Oli a • J. Se an • R. A is a
AIRBUS , A . Ga cía Mo a o s/n , 41011 Se illa , Spain
e-mail: e nando.mas@ai bus.com
C. del Valle
Se illa Uni e si y , Reina Me cedes s/n , 42012 Se illa , Spain
e-mail: [email p o ec ed]
16.1 In oduc ion
The design and he indus ializa ion o ai c a s is a complex p ocess. An ai c a
like he Ai bus A400M is composed o abou 700,000 pa s (excluding s anda d
pa s). Pa s a e assembled in o ae os uc u es and majo componen s, which a e
designed and manu ac u ed in se e al coun ies all o e he wo ld [ 1 ]. Ai bus design
s a ed in 1969 [ 2 ] wi h he launch o he Ai bus A300B.
A ha ime d awings we e c ea ed on pape . By he mid-eigh ies, he Ai bus
A320 and he CASA CN235 we e designed using a Compu e Aided Design (CAD)
ool, o he 3D su aces and d awings, and a Compu e Aided Manu ac u ing
(CAM) applica ion, o nume ical con ol p og amming.
In he mid-nine ies, P oduc Da a Managemen (PDM) sys ems and 3D solid
modeling le Ai bus o s a building a p oduc Digi al Mock-Up (DMU), mainly o
check unc ional design in e e ences. Then Concu en Enginee ing was in o-
duced and a huge p ojec , named ACE (Ai bus Concu en Enginee ing) [ 3 ], s a ed
o de elop and deploy me hods, p ocess and ools along all he unc ional design
disciplines. A b ie summa y o he p oduc Digi al Mock Up (DMU) a Ai bus is
p esen ed in [ 4 ].
The complexi y o an ai c a as a p oduc is no only a unc ional design le el.
The complexi y is also ela ed o he indus ial design o he ai c a and he gene a ion
o he manu ac u ing documen a ion. The li ecycle o a ypical ai c a could
be mo e han 50 yea s. The numbe o e sions, a ian s, cus ome cus omiza ions,
modi i ca ions due o l igh secu i y, imp o emen s, e c. and he need o de elop and
implemen hem is ano he impo an sou ce o complexi y.
Du ing he las yea s di e en me hodologies and echniques ha e been applied
o deal wi h his complexi y. The co e idea o he Collabo a i e Enginee ing is o
s a wi h unc ional and indus ial design om he beginning o he li ecycle building
an iDMU. The iDMU le s in l uence P oduc , P ocesses and Resou ces each o he
and pe o m i ual manu ac u ing. PLM me hodologies and ools a e used
in ensi ely o help in he implemen a ion and deploymen .
The emainde o his pape is o ganized as ollows: he nex sec ion explains he
ole o PLM in managing he p ocess complexi y in he ae ospace indus y. Follows
wo sec ions wi h an analysis o he ‘As Is—To Be’ si ua ions and he unc ional
model de eloped. Finally he pape ends wi h an in oduc ion o CALIPSOneo
P ojec as a p oo o concep and some conclusions abou he wo k.
16.2 The Role o PLM o Cope wi h This Complexi y
PLM me hods and ools a e a ge ed o manage p ocesses and enginee ing p ocess
in he i s place. The e o e PLM is being in oduced in he ae onau ical indus y o
manage p ocess complexi y wi hin unc ional and indus ial ai c a design. The
in oduc ion o PLM me hods and ools a e pa o he e olu ion o he enginee ing
p ocess al eady aking place in he ai c a indus y. This e olu ion is due mainly o
he echnological e olu ion o so wa e ools, he need o sho ime- o-ma ke , o
educe cos and o inc ease quali y and ma u i y o he de elopmen . PLM is also a
main enable o his e olu ion.
This e olu ion can be esumed in h ee enginee ing pa adigms: adi ional,
concu en and collabo a i e.
16.3 T adi ional Enginee ing
The T adi ional Enginee ing app oach o design a p oduc is he implemen a ion o
design asks in sequence (Fig. 16.1 ). Main disad an ages o his app oach a e: only
ocused on p oduc unc ionali y, suppo ed in d awings, di e en eams wi h
lack o communica ion be ween hem o which is o en e e ed o as he
“o e - he- wall” app oach [ 5 ], p oblems pushed down o he end o he li ecycle,
and long ime- o-ma ke .
16.4 Enginee ing
Abou 20 yea s ago, and wi h he in oduc ion o he eme gen PLM ools, a wide-
company p ojec , ACE (Ai bus Concu en Enginee ing) [ 3 ] was launched. F amed
wi hin he Ai bus A340-500/600 de elopmen p og am, i aimed o de elop and
deploy concu en enginee ing p ac ices and he associa ed PLM ools.
Concu en Enginee ing diminished he disad an ages o he adi ional pa adigm
(Fig. 16.2 ). The wall desc ibed in T adi ional Enginee ing s ill exi s bu i is no so
high. The indus ializa ion asks a e no as ad anced as unc ional asks in e ms o
PLM ools usage. The cu en deli e able is again he p oduc DMU, in e ope abili y
and wo king p ac ice issues cause ha compac disks o memo y s icks l ies o e
Fig. 16.1 T adi ional iew s. concu en iew
he wall ins ead o pape based d awings. Indus ial design is no ully in eg a ed
wi h unc ional design, and i has li le in l uence o e he la e . They comp ise wo
sepa a e eams wi h dissimila skills.
In ac , one o he mos impo an easons o ha e he wall is he ce i i ca ion
p ocess by he ae onau ical au ho i ies. T adi ionally ce i i ca ion was made using
he p oduc de i ni ion, d awings, and ma ks he end o he ai c a design p ocess.
Concu en Enginee ing s ill holds his idea and conside s he ai c a design only
as he unc ional design, en iched wi h manu ac u ing cons ains and needs.
16.5 Collabo a i e Enginee ing
Nowadays he aim is a design p ocess wi h a single eam ha c ea es a single deli -
e able including bo h he unc ional design and indus ial design (Fig. 16.2 ). The
main ad an age is a u he ime- o-ma ke educ ion applying i ual alida ion by
means o i ual manu ac u ing echniques. I is a new me hodology ha needs new
wo king p ocedu es and new PLM ools.
16.6 Analysis As-Is To-Be
Cu en o “As Is” si ua ion (Fig. 16.3 ) shows an op imized unc ional design a ea
wi h a clea deli e able: he p oduc DMU. The concu en p ocess closes he gap
be ween unc ional design and indus ial design, and is in ended o p omo e “Design
o Manu ac u ing” and “Design o Assembly.” The unc ional design deli e able,
he “DMU as mas e ,” being a p o i able i em in he i s s ages o he li e- cycle,
becomes o dec easing use wi h ime and meanwhile mos o he indus ial design
asks a e s ill pape based.
Fu u e o “To Be” si ua ion shows an op imized unc ional and indus ial design
a ea wi h a clea deli e able: he iDMU [ 6 ]. The p e ious gap is elimina ed by he
Fig. 16.2 Concu en iew s. collabo a i e iew
collabo a i e way o building he iDMU and he i ual alida ion o i . The design
( unc ional and indus ial) deli e able, he “iDMU o all,” is a aluable i em along
he whole li ecycle. The in o ma ion con ained in he iDMU can now be exploi ed
by Sus aining, o p oduce shop l oo documen a ion in a wide a ie y o o ma s.
This new collabo a i e design me hodology equi es also new p ocedu es. In his
wo k we can only discuss he co e o he p ocedu es change, and his can be done
wi hin his analysis As-Is To-Be.
Cu en As-Is Concu en Design p ocedu es a e based in a well de i ned DMU
li ecycle made o exhaus i ely de i ned ma u i y s a es. DMU ma u i y s a es a e
con ols o he indus ial design asks. The di e en Indus ial design asks canno
be s a ed un il he DMU eaches he co esponding ma u i y s a e. The e a e also
p ocedu es con olling he e olu ion om a ma u i y s a e o he ollowing based on
app o al o all he s akeholde s. This way, he indus ial design only can p og ess on
he acks o he unc ional design, and p ocesses and esou ces li e- cycles a e less
exhaus i ely de i ned.
In he To-Be Collabo a i e P ocedu es, he ma u i y o p oduc , p ocesses and
esou ces mus e ol e a he same ime. The p oduc DMU is no deli e ed a
de i ned s a es o he indus ial design. Ins ead, p oduc , p ocesses and esou ces a e
a ailable a any ime o all he de elopmen s akeholde s wo king in a common
en i onmen . Ma u i y s a es a e supe seded by con ol poin s o ma u i y ga es
which a e common o p oduc , p ocesses and esou ces and a e passed by ag ee-
men be ween he s akeholde s.
This new collabo a i e design me hodology equi es also a ea angemen o
unc ions as p oposed below.
Fig. 16.3 Analysis “As Is - To Be”

16.7 Func ional Model
A unc ional model (Fig. 16.4 ) shows he main unc ions and in o ma ion l ow
in ol ed in he de elopmen and p oduc ion o an ai c a .
Managemen ac i i ies a e ep esen ed by he box “ Manage ,” comp ise “ p o-
g am managemen , cos & planning ” and in l uence all he downs eam unc ions.
De elopmen ac i i ies a e ep esen ed by he box “Enginee ,” con olled by he
ou pu om “ Manage ,” “ Cus ome equi emen s ” and “ Indus ial s a egy ”.
De elopmen ac i i ies include “ Func ional Design ” and “ Indus ial Design ,”
wo king oge he as a single eam o de elop p oduc , p ocesses and esou ces om
he concep ual phase o he s a o he se ial p oduc ion. The deli e able is an
“ iDMU ,” a comple e de i ni ion and e i i ca ion o he i ual manu ac u ing o he
p oduc [ 6 ]. All he de ia ions coming om he shop l oo , in e ms o “ De ia ions
( non con o mances , concessions ), a e inpu s o “ Enginee ,” included in he “ iDMU ”
and sen o “ Ope a ion .” The i nal ou pu is an “ As buil ” iDMU ha i s wi h he
eal p oduc launch by “ Ope a ion ”.
P oduc ion ac i i ies a e ep esen ed by he box “Ope a ion,” con olled by he
ou pu om “ Manage ” and by he ou pu om “ Enginee ” “ iDMU .” Ope a ion
ac i i ies include “Sus aining,” which is in cha ge o exploi he iDMU, wi h he
help o MES (Manu ac u ing Execu ion Sys ems), o launch “ Shop l oo Documen s ”
o “ Se ial p oduc ion .” The “ Manu ac u ing P oblems ” ha can be managed wi hou
USED AT: DATE: 13/05/2013 WORKING READER DATE CONTEXT:
A-0
As- Buil :
Ai c a
Manu ac u ing p oblems
Shop- loo documen a ion
DRAFT
RECOMMENDED
PUBLICATION
REV: 15/05/2013
MANAGE
P og am managemen , Cos s & Planning
FUNCTIONAL
DESIGN
As-Design p oposal
As-Planned needs
De ia ions (non-con o mance, concessions,...)
NODE: TITLE:
A0
INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN
SUSTAINING
iDMU
SERIAL
PRODUCTION
NUMBER:
OPERATION
ENGINEER
AUTHOR: Femando MAS
PROJECT: Collabo a i e Enginee ing
NOTES: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Fig. 16.4 Collabo a i e unc ional model
modi ying he iDMU, a e managed by “ Sus aining. ” Any o he i em a ec ing he
iDMU is de i ed o “ Enginee ” as de ia ion. The ou pu om “ Ope a ion ” is he
i nal physical p oduc ha i s 100% wi h he “ As buil .”
16.8 Digi al Mock Up (DMU) and Indus ial
Digi al Mock Up (iDMU)
Collabo a i e Enginee ing in ol es a lo o changes: o ganiza ional, eams, ela ion-
ships, skills, me hods, p ocedu es, s anda ds, p ocesses, ools and in e aces. I is
eally a business ans o ma ion p ocess [ 7 ]. One o he key changes is he enginee ing
deli e able: om he “DMU as mas e ” o he “iDMU o all” (Fig. 16.3 ).
“DMU as mas e ” is a s anda d inside Ai bus [ 4 ]. All he in o ma ion ela ed o
he unc ional aspec s o he p oduc is included in he p oduc DMU, e.g. aspec s
like “design in con ex ” and clashes- ee p oduc a e ully deployed. The DMU is
he e e ence o he p oduc unc ional de i ni ion, and i is buil in concu en engi-
nee ing aken in o accoun manu ac u ing cons ain s.
The “iDMU o all” is a new concep . I is he main enable o he Collabo a i e
Enginee ing app oach and p o ides a common i ual en i onmen o all he ai -
c a de elopmen s akeholde s. Func ional design and indus ial design a e pa o
a single design p ocess whe e hey p og ess oge he and in l uence each o he .
The iDMU collec s he in o ma ion ela ed o unc ional design plus all he in o -
ma ion ela ed o indus ial design: manu ac u ing and assembly p ocess, associa ed
esou ces, indus ial means and human esou ces [ 6 ]. All is de i ned in an in eg a ed
en i onmen , whe e comple e and pa ial simula ions a e done con inuously, and a
he end o he design phase, hey gua an ee a alida ed solu ion. Figu e 16.5 shows
an example o a 3D iew o an iDMU.
16.9 P oo o Concep P ojec : CALIPSOneo
To make a p oo o concep (POC) o implemen ing he Collabo a i e Enginee ing
pa adigm using PLM ools, an R + D + i p ojec called CALIPSOneo was launched.
CALIPSOneo is a joined e o ha in ol es Enginee ing Companies, IT companies,
PLM Vendo s, Resea ch Cen e s and Uni e si ies.
CALIPSOneo uses he newes PLM ools. I akes as inpu de elopmen s om
p e ious p ojec s, ela ed o digi al manu ac u ing echniques implemen a ion [ 6 , 8 ]
and ai c a concep ual design modeling [ 9 ] and o he ini ia i es epo ed in li e a-
u e [ 10 – 12 ]. The p ojec aims o demons a e he capabili ies o newes PLM
me hodologies and ools o:
• To implemen he Collabo a i e Enginee ing concep s desc ibed abo e. To imple-
men a common 3D wo k en i onmen o all he s akeholde s. To implemen an
iDMU and i ual alida ion by using i .
• To implemen con i gu a ion based on indi idual specimen (single ai c a s).
• To assess he bene i s o he iDMU concep when compa ed o he usual p ac ices
o he indus ial design.
• To assess he a ailabili y o PLM ools o de elop and deploy new capabili ies.
To assess he capabili y o exploi he iDMU o p oduce ad anced shop l oo
documen a ion.
To use o he la es PLM ools o a p oo o concep o he new design collabo a-
i e pa adigm needs a sound echnical suppo , o his eason he PLM ools manu-
ac u e Dassaul Sys èmes we e inco po a ed as a pa ne .
Also a sound p ojec de elopmen me hodology was necessa y; he NDT
(Na iga ional De elopmen Techniques) me hodology was selec ed. NDT was
de eloped by he IWT2 esea ch g oup (Uni e si y o Se illa) [ 13 ].
16.10 Conclusions
Collabo a i e Enginee ing is a b oade app oach de i ed om he p e ious
Concu en Enginee ing expe iences. The a ailabili y o new PLM sys ems and he
ma u i y o he eams a e he key elemen s in he success o i s implemen a ion.
Du ing he de elopmen o he CALIPSOneo p ojec , which is s ill unning, se e al
Fig. 16.5 Fan cowl indus ial digi al mockup (iDMU) (no a eal iDMU due o con i den iali y)
issues we e iden i i ed. One o hem is hem is he complexi y o managing a eal pilo
case in pa allel wi h he de elopmen and deploymen o he associa ed PLM ools.
The PLM ools a e he key enable in c ea ing and managing he indus ial DMU
(iDMU) and he iDMU is he key enable o he collabo a i e app oach. Fo his
issue, he adop ed solu ion was o se up a mul idisciplina y wo king eam model,
whe e enginee s, expe s on he indus ial design asks, and PLM expe s wo k al o-
ge he conduc ing indus ial and CALIPSOneo R + D + i asks.
Enginee s we e ained in unde s anding how PLM ools could help in he indus-
ializa ion design p ocess and PLM expe s we e ocused on cus omizing and using
he PLM ools o c ea e he iDMU.
Acknowledgemen s Au ho s wish o exp ess hei since e g a i ude o colleagues om Ai bus
Mili a y, Uni e sidad Poli écnica de Mad id, Uni e sidad de Se illa and pa ne s o CALIPSOneo
p ojec o hei collabo a ion and con ibu ion o he p ojec .
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