Design, optimize and validate with convergent modeling and topology optimization software

Maintenance being performed on a commercial passenger jet parked in a hangar

Motivated by performance and sustainability demands – in addition to constant pressure to reduce cost and time from programs – aerospace and defense companies are increasingly exploring new designs, composite materials, and alternative production methods. While new approaches lead to more innovative products in the marketplace, speed could suffer without the right tools and processes.

By introducing convergent modeling and topology optimization software to the process, development teams can rapidly generate designs and explore alternatives to bolster strength, reduce weight, or incorporate new materials and manufacturing methods. Those optimized designs can then be validated without countless build and break cycles and late changes after the handover to production. Leveraging the cloud-based services of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, teams can take advantage of these features at any time from anywhere.

Motivated by performance and sustainability demands – in addition to constant pressure to reduce cost and time from programs – aerospace and defense companies are increasingly exploring new designs, composite materials, and alternative production methods. While new approaches lead to more innovative products in the marketplace, speed could suffer without the right tools and processes.

By introducing convergent modeling and topology optimization software to the process, development teams can rapidly generate designs and explore alternatives to bolster strength, reduce weight, or incorporate new materials and manufacturing methods. Those optimized designs can then be validated without countless build and break cycles and late changes after the handover to production. Leveraging the cloud-based services of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, teams can take advantage of these features at any time from anywhere.

Man using convergent modeling and topology optimization to analyze two simulations of an airplane part on two computer monitors.

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Convergent modeling and topology optimization removes barriers to swift innovation

Innovate with speed while confidently incorporating new materials and manufacturing methods. Scanning an existing part generates a preliminary 3D CAD mesh quickly as a baseline for a new design using the convergent modeling approach. Then, coupled with topology optimization, users can rapidly iterate to explore weight and material reduction without sacrificing the part's integrity, strength, and performance requirements.

One ecosystem to design, test, and build

Optimizing parts does not necessarily make their manufacture more complex, especially when using additive manufacturing. In many cases, creating a single assembly from what would have previously required several parts and components can be game-changing for companies. However, to get the most efficient and effective use of additive manufacturing means remaining in the same ecosystem used to design the product and eliminating translators and other intermediary steps.

Another emerging approach to reducing weight while maintaining structural durability is the use of composites. However, the potential for weight reduction using these blends of materials is far from being maximized. Many companies use manual methods for composite layup and trimming, often leading to significant waste and expensive rework. With Xcelerator's composite-specific capabilities integrated into the CAD and simulation environments, the design and manufacture of composite parts and assemblies are enhanced, optimized, and streamlined.

To see how the end-to-end continuity of working in the open Xcelerator environment enables companies to innovate, validate and build the highest performing products with unsurpassed speed and the flexibility to implement new methods and materials.

Sign up for a free 30-day trial of aircraft design software.

Man using convergent modeling and topology optimization to analyze two simulations of an airplane part on two computer monitors.