3 Ways that 3D Design Benefits the Structural Design Process

Within the manufacturing industry 2D drawings have been the norm for a long time, typically providing information on dimensions and tolerancing for a particular part. But 2D drawings aren’t the easiest way to describe a 3D part, often lacking in providing an unambiguous description of a complex 3D part.

But when using a 3D design, you can create a single geometrical file that includes all of the dimensions of a complex 3D structure, reducing any issues in ambiguity and increasing the accuracy of your design. This is especially important for Aerospace projects where global competition is intense and costs can be extremely high, so ensuring a low cost and accurate structural design process is paramount to ensuring an efficient and short time to market.

So here’s 3 ways that CATIA 3D design can benefit the structural design process for Aerospace projects.

1) Lower Costs

Using CATIA 3D design brings numerous cost advantages. The CATIA 3D design approach incorporates tolerancing into the structural design process, allowing for the utilization of tolerance analysis tools to check assembly variations. Within the CATIA 3D approach, you can also simulate build variations to evaluate whether the part meets product requirements. Simulation offers the chance to loosen tolerances, which has benefits later on in the process by reducing manufacturing costs by up to 90%.

Costs are also kept down by the ability to re-use the product definition for future versions of the part or developments of the part. So rather than having to deal with masses of drawings, you can ensure organisation of your design process in a single space.

An example of the cost saving benefits of CATIA 3D design includes a major Aerospace supplier that was able to achieve significant cost savings using the 3D approach to design for its tooling design process. Following comprehensive training in use of CATIA 3D Master, the company was able to achieve a 20%-30% reduction in tooling costs, by preventing errors due to incorrect production definitions.

2) Accuracy in Design

Unlike 3D designs, 2D drawings consist of multiple datasets, including a solid model, a parts list and the 2D drawings themselves. The problem is that when design changes occur, changes need to be made across these datasets, which can easily lead to these data sets falling out of sync with each other.

But with the 3D design approach, there is a significantly reduced chance of these datasets going out of sync, ensuring accuracy in design and reduced time to market.

Using a string of 2D drawings to describe a complex 3D part often leads to misinterpretations of a part, pre-empting the manufacture of bad parts. But by collating all design elements in a single 3D geometrical file, the increased accuracy in understanding the structural design across departmental functions avoids misunderstandings in product design, reducing the chances of costly delays in product development.

For example, when it comes to sheet metal manufacturing in Aerospace projects, complicated weld assemblies can be created in 3D based on process definitions and rules. Using the CATIA 3D design approach, sheet metal parts can be created correctly the first time round by taking into account manufacturing constraints early in design, speeding up the design-to-manufacturing cycle.

3) Tolerancing Advisor

Within the CATIA 3D design approach, the utilization of a tolerancing advisor assists in the application of tolerances to a part, whilst preventing you from creating an invalid tolerance.

For example, when applying a flatness tolerance to a part involved for an Aerospace project, any invalid tolerances are filtered out. This helps to increase accuracy in the structural design process, ensuring later stages such as manufacturing can progress with haste. 

Ultimately, the CATIA 3D design approach has 3 significant benefits for the structural design process for Aerospace projects;

• Lower costs – through simulation and reusing product definitions, costs can be kept down, with one Aerospace manufacturer experiencing a 20%-30% reduction in costs.
• Accuracy in design – through a single 3D geometrical file, reduced misunderstandings in product design can reduce errors in product development.
• Tolerancing Advisor – with a helpful tolerancing guide preventing the creation of invalid tolerances, there is increased accuracy in the structural design of a part.