Rotorcraft

Taking a Comprehensive Approach to Rotorcraft Development

Rotorcraft are among the most advanced composite structures flying today. Helicopters typically involve the most complicated composite parts and assemblies due to the complex nature of rotorcraft shapes, layup types, and structural joints. While the number of players in the rotorcraft manufacturing space is not large, competition remains fierce so it is critical for companies to continuously find ways to reduce costs, shorten cycle times, and raise quality and performance. As a result, seeking out new manufacturing methods and materials represents a way of life for successful rotorcraft firms.

The key to overcoming these challenges is recognizing that the composite definition and assembly definition of an airframe—whether it applies to fuselage sections, spars, pylons, blades, the tail boom, or other components—are inextricably linked in a variety of complex ways. Modifying one aspect can have a significant impact on the other. Thinking of the rotorcraft as an integrated system and having insight into the entire development process enables engineers to quickly understand the effects of their decisions so errors can be reduced and time to market can be expedited.

Vistagy takes on these challenges with Fibersim composites engineering software and Syncrofit™ software for airframe assembly. Fibersim is the only comprehensive software that addresses the entire composites engineering process, from conception, laminate definition, and ply creation through simulation, performance optimization, flat pattern generation, documentation, and manufacturing.

Syncrofit is a family of aerospace-specific engineering software applications for designing and manufacturing airframes and large aerostructures. The airframe development process is made up of several steps, including design, manufacturing, and quality inspection. Vistagy provides the only airframe development software solution for each of these steps and offers complete functionality for capturing all types of data, materials, and methodologies specific to airframe development.

By adopting Fibersim, helicopter manufacturers have realized a number of benefits, including: mitigating the risks of producing a part that is not true to the design; significantly reducing the amount of time that is required for ply development and layup; streamlining its manufacturing process; automating non-value added tasks to achieve significant productivity gains, and improving overall part quality and repeatability and increasing throughput.

In fact, one helicopter manufacturer estimated that Fibersim would enable the firm to reduce ply development time by 78 percent and average part layup time by 38 percent.

Syncrofit software has been proven in production to reduce time to design airframe assemblies by as much as 70 percent compared to manual methods. It accomplishes this by enabling commercial 3D CAD users to fully define and manage fasteners, joints and interfaces between parts within complex assemblies—drastically improving the accuracy and efficiency of the process. Syncrofit delivers key functionality for increasing productivity, eliminating error-induced engineering change orders, and improving communication between internal departments and throughout the supply chain.