Dassault Systèmes Partners with Airbus APWorks to Advance 3D Printing for Production in Aerospace & Defense Industry

Dassault Systèmes‘ 3DEXPERIENCE platform has been leveraged by a variety of clients across a range of industries, from shipbuilding to defense and more. One notable client is the Airbus Group, which has taken advantage of Dassault’s Co-Design to Target solution for their additive manufacturing program. Now, an Airbus subsidiary is partnering with Dassault to further develop that solution and advance additive manufacturing as a means of large-scale production in the aerospace and defense industry.

Airbus APWorks specializes in metal 3D printing for the aerospace industry, as well as automotive, robotics, mechanical engineering and medical technology. The company announced today that they will be collaborating with Dassault Systèmes to expand the capabilities of the Co-Design to Target solution, creating an end-to-end process that provides digital continuity for all engineering parameters across the additive manufacturing value chain.

Not long ago, additive manufacturing in aviation was used mainly for product design and prototyping, but as the technology evolves, we’re beginning to see it extend to critical end-use parts. Recently, the FAA approved the first 3D printed titanium structural components for use in a commercial airliner, signifying that additive manufacturing has crossed the threshold from prototypes and interior cabin components to become a means for actually 3D printing airplanes, a piece at a time.

APWorks and Dassault intend to accelerate the adoption of 3D printing on a widespread level in the aerospace and defense industries through the Co-Design to Target solution. The expanded process will allow companies to handle everything from design to manufacturing and testing with a single data source. The solution integrates 3D design with engineering and simulation, allowing users to optimize parts for additive manufacturing and create standardization parameters, which in turn enable certification standards. Testing, optimization and additive manufacturing of parts can be matched to those identified parameters, allowing original equipment manufacturers to perform virtual validation of parts during each stage of production and catch any problems early on in the process.

“The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is a first important step to replicable and scalable serial production. Simulation can help to predict and avoid part failures,” said Joachim Zettler, CEO, APWorks. “The aviation industry is safety-oriented and new product introductions typically take time. With the virtual validation of the additive manufacturing process, we can expect certified serial additively manufactured parts.”

With the faster production that the platform will allow, manufacturers can speed the delivery of aircraft that are more lightweight, stronger, faster, and more eco- and cost-friendly. Additive manufacturing has the potential to dramatically change the way airplanes are made, and the expansion of Co-Design to Target is another step towards taking those changes from speculation to reality.

“Virtual technologies and additive manufacturing are enabling the industrial world to do more with less waste, weight and costs, as well as freeing designers to explore complex shapes that could not be manufactured using traditional processes,” said Michel Tellier, Vice President Aerospace & Defense Industry, Dassault Systèmes. “Only by reducing the distance between real and virtual to zero can industry build and experience the future. Dassault Systèmes is joining efforts with leading-edge innovators in this field like APWorks to accelerate technology adoption in the industry.”

Dassault Systèmes and APWorks expect their collaboration to go beyond just aerospace and encompass applications relating to several of the other industries in which APWorks specializes, such as robotics, mechanical engineering, automotive and medicine.

Dassault Systèmes is currently at the International Paris Air Show, which is taking place from June 19 to 25. If you’ll be at the show, you can visit them at booth E172, hall 2B. Discuss in the Dassault APWorks forum at 3DPB.com.