Digital mockup in 3D

Every part has to fit – about 140000 of them, if it is about a modern plane fuselage. Because if a bar isn’t long enough, a bracket doesn’t fit, if the planned course of tubes and cables cannot be realized, a project costs more in terms of time and money.

Usually problems related to accuracy of fit are discovered too late, in particular during the installation of a component obviously. Hence the aviation industry more and more moves towards the construction of planes in virtual space. Away from two-dimensional construction drawings to the three-dimensional computer-based model.

Aerospace engineer Te-Hua Leo Cheok as P3 project manager has planned and realized the step into the 3D world for a European plane manufacturer. With the support of 30 construction team members from Prague he transferred the 2D construction records of a weight-optimized plane under construction into the 3D model. About 100000 puzzle pieces were assembled on the computer to a virtual plane, a digital mock-up (DMU) emerged.

“A DMU allows instant insertion of new constructions into the model. Customer demands are directly modified and adapted to the existing parts”, Cheok explains the advantages. “And errors are evident immediately!”

But the order for the P3 – Digital Services exceeded the technical realization. Cheok and his P3-Team had to comply with the quality criteria, the budget and the delivery dates. “As single point of contact I served as the interface between our Czech constructers and our client, who didn’t have to care about intercultural challenges or language barriers.”

The success of the cooperation is reflected in many follow-up projects. In the course of additional offshoring activities, the client today also utilizes the experiences of P3 – Digital Services with service providers from India and Romania. “We audit new suppliers from countries, which are integrated into the production within the scope of offset obligation fulfillment”, explains Cheok.