With the now extended agreement between Dassault and Airbus, according to Dassault Systemes, ”a long-term strategic partnership will come, which puts the 3DEXPERIENCE platform at the heart of the lifecycle management for all new Airbus civil aircraft and military aircraft programs.” Whether this is fully true or more of a pious hope is debatable, more on this below.
It is further noted in the press material that this deployment will support the entire development chain for all Airbus civil and military aircraft and helicopters. As a consequence, it is claimed that more than 20,000 users from all business areas, as well as Airbus suppliers, will be able to collaborate more effectively and use digital twins – on-premise or in a dedicated cloud – “to shorten development cycles, predict and improve production efficiency and improve aftermarket support – all while reducing costs.”
“Digitalization an Enabler for AI,” Says Airbus CEO
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury points out in this context that the renewed partnership with Dassault will play a key role in accelerating the company’s progress towards ambitious goals around digitalization development, including AI support:
“This while ensuring the highest quality, safety and security throughout the entire lifecycle of our products and solutions, from design to operation,” says Faury, adding:
“Digitalization is a key enabler that we are leveraging to support our core priorities, whether it is increasing the production of our commercial aircraft, preparing next-generation platforms that will further contribute to the decarbonization of our sector, or pioneering tomorrow’s defense and security solutions.”
According to Dassault, the aim is to use digital twins for the next-generation modeling program based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, “which will be used across Airbus for all future generations of civil and military aircraft and helicopters.”
But even though it is a large and extensive order, the 20,000 estimated users also include Airbus’ subcontractors, unclear how many seats this will result in.
A backdrop of importance in the context is that Airbus is extremely large from an IT perspective. It has thousands of different systems involved in its operations, which include just under 160,000 employees in 180 countries. It does not require rocket science to calculate that one system can hardly handle the totality and complexity this represents.
Siemens Capital in a Leadin Role Within E/E
On the PLM or sub-PLM side, for example, Siemens Digital Industries Software is represented in EDA, Electronic Design Automation, with its Capital solution. Airbus has, as well as its American competitor Boeing, invested in key areas such as ”Electrical/Electronic” with Capital as a load-bearing solution. Cable routing which in aircraft design and development are extremely complex areas. A cable bundle can for example, be designed in the electrical tool, moved to the mechanical 3D tool for routing and then back to the electrical tool for manufacturing cable networks.
This detailed design convergence provides the necessary accuracy in terms of wire length. Something that Airbus has painful experience of when it ran into problems in the late mid-2000s. The electrical cable routing, which was designed in Dassault Systemes CATIA V5, turned out to be inconsistent when the cables were physically installed. The cables were too short, which turned out to be because the cables and the aircraft body, including the wing sections, were designed in different versions of CATIA V5.
Airbus will now not have to encounter this problem again. With the choice of Capital’s electrical/electronic (E/E) system development software from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio it is expected to not only achieve correct design results but also accelerate the development of commercial aircraft.
Siemens electrical system development software Capital can deliver correct configuration-controlled, digital twins within the E/E system. Here, the support of a comprehensive digital thread throughout the entire E/E system development, manufacturing and operational lifecycle also plays an important role. In addition, the open IT architecture and multi-domain integrations within Capital enable easy implementation in the Airbus Lean PLM environment, which forms the backbone of E/E system design and electrical cable manufacturing technology in Airbus’ various development teams in several countries.
E/E groups work in a unified design environment, enabling faster product development, optimized electrical system manufacturing, improved first-time-right quality of the electrical network and smoother supply chain integration to generate architecturally optimized design proposals, cabling and service documentation.
PTC is Present Both in PLM and on the Spare Parts Side
Among other players that are prominent in the PLM area and that are competitors to Dassault Systemes is, as mentioned in the introduction, PTC. The company was early with installations at Airbus, not least on the CAD side, via first the old CADDS software, which was later updated/replaced with new functions from ProEngineer and Creo.
In parallel with this, installations of PTC’s PLM solution Windchill have been put into use and are still used within certain model programs for things like error detection, change management, improvement of aircraft designs, configuration management and other things. When it comes to management and optimization of service and spare parts, PTC’s Servigistics is used by Airbus FHS. Windchill is also used within Airbus Helicopters to develop and manage the H160 helicopter, including its service during operation.
PDM Light with Aras PLM in a Leading Role
Another player that has entered Airbus is Aras PLM and the company’s Innovator solution. The complexity of managing all the different systems within Airbus led the company to establish ”The Greenhouse Project” a few years ago — an IT-supported environment where users across the company can update and improve their own applications. This solution enables real-time prototype management and rapid development for application modernization.
In this, Ara’s model-based architecture worked, and still works well, helping in the upgrade and integration of customized applications. The system drives the digital transformation as a kind of PDM light backbone. The system has delivered three strategic benefits to Airbus:
- Engineering, manufacturing, test and quality assurance teams have seen productivity improvements – resulting in aircraft being delivered faster than expected
- The Greenhouse project has given Airbus a cost-effective, fast and flexible way to modernize production systems.
- Finally, innovative applications are brought online quickly, facilitating Airbus’ digital transformation.
…but Dassault’s Contract Extension is a Milestone After All
But regardless, the agreement and partnership concluded between Airbus and Dassault Systemes is a comprehensive history that makes the company’s installations on the software side of the European aircraft and aerospace giant the most extensive overall. More than 20,000 users from all business areas and the value chain will collaborate and use Dassault Systèmes digital twins to improve efficiency, shorten development cycles and reduce costs.
This is a major milestone in the digital transformation of Airbus’ way of working and the preparation of next-generation aerospace products. However, how extensive the installation’s operational functions will be used remains to be seen.
Dassault Systèmes will provide Airbus with seven industry solutions based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform: ”Program Excellence”, ”Winning Concept”, ”Co-Design to Target”, ”Cleared to Operate”, ”Ready for Rate”, ”Build to Operate” and ”Keep Them Operate”.
