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Design Within Complex Environments: Collaborative Engineering in the Aerospace Industry

Mas, Fernando; Menéndez, José Luis; Oliva, Manuel; Servan, Javier; Arista, Rebeca; Valle Sevillano, Carmelo del

Abstract

The design and the industrialization of an aircraft, a major component, or an aerostructure is a complex process. An aircraft like the Airbus A400M is composed of about 700,000 parts (excluding standard parts). The parts are assembled into aerostructures and major components, which are designed and manufactured in several countries all over the world. The introduction of new Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) methodologies, procedures and tools, and the need to reduce time-to-market, led Airbus Military to pursue new working methods to deal with complexity. Collaborative Engineering promotes teamwork to develop product, processes and resources from the conceptual phase to the start of the serial production. This paper introduces the main concepts of Collaborative Engineering as a new methodology, procedures and tools to design and develop an aircraft, as Airbus Military is implementing. To make a Proof of Concept (PoC), a pilot project, CALIPSOneo, was launched to support the functional and industrial design process of a medium size aerostructure. The aim is to implement the industrial Digital Mock-Up (iDMU) concept and its exploitation to create shop fl oor documentation.

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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. 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