Aerosuite solution launched by Vistagy

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 25, 2009

Vistagy has announced the introduction of Vistagy Aerosuite, a solution that enables aircraft manufacturers to more effectively manage the evolving product development process.

It also allows manufacturers to deliver optimised parts and assemblies in less time at a lower cost.

The Aerosuite consists of FiberSim composites engineering software, SyncroFit software for assembly development and the quality planning environment.

Steve Luby, president and chief executive officer of Vistagy, said: 'There is no question that developing complex composites structures and highly engineered assemblies presents substantial challenges.

'But the key to overcoming these inherent challenges is recognising that the composite definition and assembly definition of an airframe are inextricably linked and must be considered as an integrated system.

'We believe that the companies that adopt this approach will be best-suited to meet the challenges and will thrive because they will be the ones most capable of producing robust aircraft on time and on budget.' The Vistagy Aerosuite was inspired by the realisation that trying to achieve all three of these goals simultaneously was problematic because changes in one area often had profound effects on the other two areas, resulting in missed deadlines, increased costs, overweight designs and substandard performance.

By contrast, Vistagy Aerosuite enables engineers to work how they think with vocabulary and tools specific to aerostructures design.

They can capture design intent, manage complex design and assembly relationships, automatically propagate changes throughout the design, and validate the design, resulting in better performance, reduced costs and shorter product cycles.

The VISTAGY Aerosuite is comprised of several components.

FiberSim - a software suite that addresses the entire composites-engineering process, from conception, laminate definition and ply creation through simulation, performance optimisation, flat-pattern generation, documentation and manufacturing.

SyncroFit - a group of software products (formerly known as airframe development environments) for designing and manufacturing airframe assemblies and large aerostructures.

SyncroFit enables the user to easily author and capture complete digital representations of airframe assemblies and share critical design and manufacturing detail more efficiently across the enterprise and the global supply chain.

The software provides a thorough representation of the airframe assembly, including the relationships defined by joints between mating parts and the definition of fasteners and holes.

It also manages the interactions of composite details within assemblies and allows engineers to validate that fastener design rules have been met.

Quality planning environment (QPE) - specialised software that enables quality-planning engineers to ensure airframes are manufactured properly based on condition of supply definitions.

With the QPE, quality engineers are able to generate their plans based on design and manufacturing data created by FiberSim and SyncroFit and saved in the CAD model, therefore shortening the time it takes to generate inspection plans, reducing errors in planning, and tailoring plans to the needs of the quality inspectors.

Custom consulting services - based on more than 15 years of experience working with designers and manufacturers of advanced aircraft, Vistagy has developed comprehensive service offerings to assist its customers in implementing optimised processes for developing composite aerostructures.

Vistagy uses a four-phase deployment methodology that is customised to meet the goals of each specific organisation.

Vistagy technical consultants interview designers, analysts and manufacturing engineers to assess capabilities and objectives, then develop design methodologies for specific part types and, finally, focus on large-scale deployment and the implementation of those part-specific design methodologies.

Custom consulting services enable aerospace firms to fully leverage the potential of the Vistagy Aerosuite and meet their programme objectives.