An integrated approach to the conceptual development of aircraft structures focusig on manufacturing simulation and cost

J. Butterfield*, P. Mawhinney, S. Crosby, M. Price, R. Currn, C. G. Armstrong, S. Raghunathan, D. Mc Aleenan, C. Mc Keever

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In an increasingly competitive market place manufacturers in the aerospace industry need to improve the efficiency of their product development methods. With fewer new aircraft being developed, innovation needs to switch from product to process technologies such as design, development and manufacturing planning in order to improve efficiency and reduce cost. This paper describes a product development methodology based on automatically generated CAD data which can be used for the structural analyses of and manufacturing planning for, aircraft fuselage sections. The introduction of manufacturability into the design arena makes concurrent engineering design, manufacturing planning and process validation possible before committing to the costly activities of making prototypes and tooling. Network analyses carried out on simulated assembly operations for a regional jet fuselage section, shows that labour utilization can be significantly improved when compared to a real assembly process with a 19% improvement in financial efficiency. The simulation predicts that these results can be achieved with a single final assembly jig. As two jigs are currently used for this assembly operation in reality this result represents a significant financial saving.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCollection of Technical Papers - AIAA 5th ATIO and the AIAA 16th Lighter-than-Air Systems Technology Conference and Balloon Systems Conference
PublisherAmerican Inst. Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc.
Pages506-515
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)1563477408, 9781563477409
Publication statusPublished - 2005
EventAIAA 5th Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference, ATIO and the AIAA 16th Lighter-than-Air Systems Technology Conference and Balloon Systems Conference - Arlington, VA, United States
Duration: 26 Sept 200528 Sept 2005

Publication series

NameCollection of Technical Papers - AIAA 5th ATIO and the AIAA 16th Lighter-than-Air Systems Technology Conference and Balloon Systems Conference
Volume1

Conference

ConferenceAIAA 5th Aviation Technology, Integration, and Operations Conference, ATIO and the AIAA 16th Lighter-than-Air Systems Technology Conference and Balloon Systems Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityArlington, VA
Period26/09/200528/09/2005

Bibliographical note

Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering

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