4 benefits of Composite Materials in Aerospace Manufacturing

Finding ways to produce aircraft cost-effectively is challenging enough as it is. But now aircraft manufacturers are under increasing pressure to comply with strict environmental regulations to reduce carbon emissions – which is compounded by the need to continually lower costs. But there are ways that aerospace companies can produce aircraft cost-effectively and be more environmentally-friendly.

One method suppliers have employed to combat high costs and high carbon emissions is their use of composite materials in the development of aircraft parts. For example, due to their lightweight structure, composites are able to increase fuel efficiency and hence reduce an aircraft’s carbon footprint.

3 ways to reduce costs in the Aerospace industry

OEM’s like Boeing and Airbus have received orders for thousands of new commercial aircraft, presenting an opportunity for revenue growth. The problem is that these OEM’s are being hit with cost reductions from their end customers.

To reduce costs, OEM’s are squeezing suppliers in return for access to aircraft programs. But this only transfers the problem down the line, leaving suppliers searching for ways to reduce the cost of production whilst maintaining a profit margin.

So here’s 3 ways that OEM’s and suppliers can reduce costs in the production of aircraft.

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.

3 Benefits of Using CATIA in an Aerospace Manufacturing Supply Chain

Choosing the right software for use in the Aerospace Manufacturing Supply Chain isn’t easy. The problem is that poor communication and collaboration of software between companies in the supply chain drastically delays the time to market for your product.

This tends to be the case with the traditional use of 2D drawings in the design and manufacturing stages of a project. A drawing from a supplier in reference to a 3D part of the aircraft would have to be drawn many times to show the different angles and aspects of the design and would need to be heavily annotated to explain what it all means.

If any of these designs or annotations were misinterpreted or not understood at the next stage of the supply chain, then amendments need to be made and this slows everything down. This is where the first benefit of CATIA, the 3D Master Approach, comes in.

3 Ways to Benefit from a 3D Design Approach

Getting the design of a product right is paramount in the product development process, but it’s not always so easy to do, especially with 2D drawings. 

2D drawings have historically been used as the reference point (or rather points) for product definitions. Yet, the confusion of ensuring consistency in tolerances, dimensions and annotations between the sheer volume of 2D drawings can become very frustrating.

Eventually, individuals responsible for downstream activities struggle to understand what’s going on.

But you no longer have to suffer the pain of error-laden drawings with a 3D Design Approach. Using a 3D Design Approach, you can create a single geometrical file that contains all of the dimensions, tolerances and annotations of a part, giving you a single and easily understandable reference point to build your product.

So let’s take a closer look at 3 ways you can benefit from a 3D Design Approach and how these benefits have been enjoyed by real life companies.