Define, Manage Fasteners in Complex Airframe Assemblies

By DE Editors

VISTAGY (Waltham, MA) , a leading provider of industry-specific engineering software and services,  has announced the release of SyncroFIT 2010,  its CAD-integrated, commercial off-the-shelf solution for managing the complexities of airframe interfaces with a particular emphasis on fastened structures. Version 2010 is said to improve the efficiency and accuracy of airframe assembly development by enabling 3D CAD users to fully define and manage fasteners, joints, and interfaces between parts within complex assemblies.

SyncroFIT has capabilities to author, validate, and communicate both the type design definition and the manufacturing assembly states of the airframe. The latest version of SyncroFIT incorporates new customer-driven enhancements in four primary areas: Airframe assembly management; CAD integration; design validation, and user experience. The new capabilities shorten and simplify the assembly design effort from the earliest stages of the joint definition phase through detailed design by as much as 70 percent compared to manual methods, according to the company.

SyncroFIT 2010’s new Fastener Pattern Development capability is said to promote earlier and more accurate assembly definition by transferring analysis requirements for joint fastening to the 3D CAD design based on the user’s input requirements and design rules. The new software also extends the capability of managing interfaces, fastening requirements, and specialized hardware beyond structures into the aircraft systems and interiors groups, enabling the development of standardized processes across disciplines. Additionally, SyncroFIT 2010 supports design for serviceability initiatives to reduce maintenance costs by standardizing fasteners on removable service panels to simplify repair and replacement procedures.

VISTAGY says that SyncroFIT 2010 reduces bottlenecks between internal departments and the supply chain with a standardized master model approach and common interface that enforce consistent authoring. The company says that “SyncroFIT 2010 establishes an industry-standard 3D model-based representation of detail part and assembly data to help meet the demands of the aerospace industry’s transition from a 2D drawing-based process to a 3D model-centric environment.”

Version 2010 offers an improved design validation process that is said to to expedite review by design leads and checkers for design work completed in-house, by outside suppliers, or by design partners. According to the company, this can reduce design review time for assembly-specific rules by as much as 95 percent while also significantly cutting ECOs and manufacturing rework.

The user interface in SyncroFIT 2010 has been completely overhauled and tailored to specific use cases. This is said to simplify usage by putting key functionality at the engineers’ fingertips. The software is also now available with an internationalized user interface to meet the demands of the increasingly global aerospace market.

“Defining holes and fasteners is a critical issue for developing composite aircraft because the variation in skin thickness drives the need for a wide array of fasteners and adds complexity to the design,” said Justin Elliott, GKN Aerospace’s chief engineer on the CSeries aircraft winglet program in a press statement. “SyncroFIT unravels this complexity by enabling us to easily author and capture complete digital representations of airframe assemblies and share critical design and manufacturing detail more efficiently. VISTAGY’s software and services will enable us to take an integrated approach to design and airframe assembly that will help us meet our goals.”

SyncroFIT is a part of the VISTAGY AeroSuite, which also includes FiberSIM for designing and manufacturing durable and lightweight composite structures; the Quality Planning Environment for developing plans to assess aerostructure quality; and VISTAGY professional services. SyncroFIT 2010 is shipping now. For more information about SyncroFIT 2010, go to VISTAGY on the web.

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See why DE’s Editors selected SyncroFIT 2010 as their Pick of the Week.