Short Article Proceedings of Virtual Concept 2006

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, November 26th – December 1st , 2006

Digital Manufacturing for Aerospace industry: Experimental

Aircraft

David Guerra 1, Ricardo Ramírez 1 , Laurent Donato 2 , Arturo Molina 1

(1) : Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus (2) : Ecole d´ingénieurs et d´architectes de

Monterrey, Fribourg,
Avenida Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur, Monterrey, Boulevard de Perolles 80, Fribourg, CH-1705,
N.L., 64849, México Switzerland
+52(81)83582000 Ext 5354/+52(81)83284123 +41 (0) 26 429 66 77
E-mail:{david.guerra, ricardo.ramirez, E-mail: laurent.donato@hefr.ch
armolina}@itesm.mx

Abstract: The aerospace manufacturing process is PLM can save time and money, diminish errors in bullfights
characterized by complex scenarios that need to be validated in and eliminate possible errors in design, through simulation of
order to determine manufacturability and low cost production. space required, time cycles, and programmed machines like
Key manufacturing knowledge traduced to best practices is robots or CNCs. [G4, S1, S2, S3]
required to produce successful manufacturing scenarios. New
technologies such as Digital manufacturing tools used through Generating knowledge and technological development is
PLM , are able to access and reuse the best practices, as well as crucial for México country . With this idea in mind, more and
evaluate 3D manufacturing scenarios. This paper shows how to more companies are dev eloping projects with Tecnológico de
reuse collective exp ertise and intelligence using manufacturing Monterrey. An example of this collaboration is a project of
scenarios to support key decisions through PLM. This paper assembly and production of a RV-10 airplane, with the
contributes to the exploration of digital manufacturing tools Integrated Manufacturing Systems Center (Campus
using key manufacturing knowledge at PLM environment to Monterrey) and ICKTAR Company.
the field of assembly engineering applications. The present
research encompasses multidisciplinary engineering work For the development of a project of this kind it is required to
teams defining the assembly process of an airplane part. This work in different areas, all important to a correct operation of
paper argues that digital manufacturing tools enable complex the aircraft produced, and of course, so as to generate a
manufacturing scenarios analysis virtually, exchanging quality product, which is a key feature in the aeronautic
expertise at collaborative work and increasing value added industry and cannot be overseen. [G1, G2]
between collaborators. A case study is presented as a validation
to this idea. Virtual Manufacturing is an important area inside the
Key words: Digital Manufacturing tools at PLM, assembly and production process. In this area relies the task
Collaborative manufacturing, Assembly process. of computational modeling of the aircraft’s parts, to evaluate
the best work strategy and simulate it, showing the assembly
process with its different parameters and specifications.
1- PLM and Digital Ma nufacturing tools
The PLM approach allows managing all the information, 2- Digital manufacturing tools at aerospace
processes and resources of a product along its development . industry
Nowadays, to develop new products, the innovation techniques
are not only a designer’s or engineer’s concern. The most Manufacturing is a dynamic, exciting, and critical industry.
successful companies usually mobilize all their internal A rapidly changing world at an increasingly frantic rate.
services (marketing and sales, manufacturing, quality and Manufacturing systems and processes are being combined
maintenance…) and external services (suppliers, customers…). with simulation technology, computer hardware, and
operating systems to reduce costs and increase company
profitability. Perhaps one of the most interesting and
PLM digital tools are useful for a wide range of sectors and important of these recent developments is called “Virtual
products, for instance to build virtual prototypes. However all Manufacturing”, which involves the simulation of product
companies should have a PLM approach to help them improve mechanical functionality and the processes involved in its
the management of their products; within the production area, fabrication. [Q1, G2]

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 Virtual Concept 2006 Digital Manufacturing for Aerospace industry: Experimental Aircraft

In addition, virtual manufacturing also reduces the cost of

tooling, eliminates the need for multiple physical prototypes,
and reduces material waste. It provides manufacturers with the
confidence of knowing that they can deliver quality products to
market, on time and within budget. Small improvements in
manufacturing have dramatic and profound effects in terms of
cost and quality, and it not only happens to the beginning of
the life of the product but during its service life. [D1, C1, G4]

Return on investment calculations have shown that small

savings in material usage deliver enormous returns in a Figure 2: Riveting machine
manufacturing environment. A virtual lab for product creation
uses a computer to simulate a product’s performance and the The requirement of creating tools that would help in the
processes involved in its fabrication. This technology has fabrication phase came up. This machine (Figure 2) was
enabled companies to simulate fabrication and testing in a planned to help in the drilling and riveting stations,
more realistic manner than ever before. optimizing and simplifying the work to be done in the
construction stations. This designed tool is a pneumatic
The case study explained next is a project concerning the riveter with a rivets container that facilitates their positioning
assembly and redesign of an experimental, true-scale aircraft during the process.
RV-10, with capacity for four passengers. This aircraft was
supplied by ICKTAR, a Mexican company, with the general Layout planning analysis
objective of producing technological competences for
providing high tech. services to the aerospace industry. Such The preliminary work consisted in subdividing and grouping
demanding project was entirely carried out by students of the required steps for the assembly into five different
Tecnológico de Monterrey, enrolled in different teams, each workstations: riveting, drilling, de-burring, fixturing and
one undertaking a specific task (or sub-project) tow ards the assembly. After that, for each station were defined resources,
completion of the full project. Instructors acted as moderators processes and knowledge using the collaborative work of
and promoters of inter-team communication, rather than experts consulted, as well as the previous experiences of the
transmitters of knowledge. [E1, Y1, G3] members.

Some of the results obtained through this project are shown in The next step was to propose different layouts to arrange the
this paper. From the available manufacturing tools that different workstations, considering the work sequence, the
Dassault Sytemes ® offers in PLM environment, just some of timings, the material flows and the value-adding processes
them have been used according to the project’s requirements: (Figure 3). For this task, the PLM digital tools (Factory Flow
CATIA®, DELMIA® and QUEST®. simulation, for instance) were significantly useful since some
of the modules are designed to perform these specific
activities, sharing automatically knowledge and information.
Product design analysis
One part of the study was the design of the positioning and
anchorage mechanisms of the battery system to a structure of
new design (Figure 1). The design of this new product was
performed with CATIA® software.

Figure 3: Layout planning analysis

Ergonomic analysis
Other stage of the project was to use virtual manufacturing
tools in order to make ergonomics analysis due to the
complexity of the traditional assembly procedure (Figure 4).
This analysis included: time studies, process optimization
with an special focus on critical steps of the assembly
process, for quality considerations.
Figure 1 : Battery model

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 Virtual Concept 2006 Digital Manufacturing for Aerospace industry: Experimental Aircraft

References

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[E1] Elizalde, H.; Ramírez, R.; Orta, P.; Guerra, D.; Pérez,
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[G3] Guerra, D.; Rosas, R.; Camacho, R.; Molina, A. (2005)

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Conclusions
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Digital manufacturing tools provided by Dassault Systemes®
(CATIA®, DELMIA ® and QUEST ®) supported successfully
the RV-10 battery model development by means of the product
design made in CATIA, process design and ergonomics
analysis by DELMIA and factory flow simulation developed in
QUEST. The results were an efficient battery support
modeling, handling features design, new tool design, and
optimal layout for manufacturing and assembly processes. All
these results allowed building expertise and knowledge to
improve the ICKTAR’s processes.
[S3] Sudarsan, R.; Fenvers, S.; Siriram, R & Wang, F.
(2005). A product information modeling framework for
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(13): 1399-1411.
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(2006). Modeling of virtual workpiece with machining errors
representation in turning. Journal of Materials Processing
Technology, 172 (3, 10): 437-444.

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