Commercial Aircraft

Composite Commercial Aircraft Take Off with Help of Vistagy Solutions

A generation ago it seemed inconceivable that a commercial aircraft could be made largely out of advanced composites materials. At the time, composites were most often applied to military aircraft for non-primary structures. But the desire for lightweight and efficient aerostructures has made them a reality. And the increasing global competition for commercial aircraft drives manufacturers to continuously look for ways to reduce costs, shorten cycle times, and raise quality and performance. As a result, the industry is routinely seeking new manufacturing methods and materials to meet customer demands and stay ahead of the competition.

Commercial aircraft manufacturers have recognized the key to overcoming these challenges is considering the composite and assembly definition of an airframe—regardless of the component—as part of the same equation since they are tied together in a variety of intricate ways. Modifying one aspect can have a significant impact on another aspect. Thinking of the airframe as a holistic system and having a view of the entire development process enables engineers to quickly understand the effects of their decisions so mistakes can be reduced and time to market can be improved.

Vistagy provides solutions that reduce the risks and costs associated with employing these technologies through the use of an integrated approach to commercial aerostructure development. This approach takes into account the complexity of composite design and manufacturing as well the integration of composite components into an overall assembly.

Vistagy tackles these issues with its comprehensive Aerosuite™ solution, which is comprised of Fibersim™ composites engineering software, Syncrofit™ software for airframe assembly, the Quality Planning Environment™, as well as custom consulting services.

Fibersim is the only software that addresses the whole composites engineering process, from conception, laminate definition, and ply creation through simulation, performance optimization, flat pattern generation, documentation, and manufacturing. It delivers key capabilities to optimize designs and increase productivity throughout the composites design and manufacturing lifecycle, including rapidly adapting to design changes, predicting manufacturability issues, and improving communication between internal departments and the supply chain.

Syncrofit is a group of software products for easily authoring and managing the assembly interfaces and the hundreds of thousands of fasteners that are used in an airframe. Syncrofit is the only production-proven, CAD-integrated, commercial off-the-shelf solution for managing the vagaries of airframe interfaces with a particular emphasis on fastened structures. It has the capabilities to efficiently author, validate, and communicate both the type design definition and the manufacturing states of the airframe assembly.

In addition, Vistagy offers the Quality Planning Environment (QPE) to ensure that airframe components are manufactured to specification. The QPE generates first article inspection plans based on design and manufacturing data created by Syncrofit and Fibersim and saved in the CAD model.