Smart manufacturing software

Dassault Systèmes announced that the electric air mobility pioneer, Eviation Aircraft, used the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud to develop the first prototype of its zero-emission, all-electric regional commuter aircraft – Alice – in two years.

In the race to create and commercialize new categories of sustainable air mobility systems, Eviation Aircraft accelerated the prototype’s development by deploying the “Reinvent the Sky” industry solution experience based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. This scalable cloud solution supported the company’s holistic approach to 3D, composite design and flow simulation with improved collaboration while securing data in a single, standards-based environment.

“The electrification of aircraft isn’t a question of if, but when. As we aim to make clean regional air travel accessible for all, we needed to be able to make a product that people trust, sit in and fly, and do it quickly,” said Omer Bar-Yohay, CEO, Eviation Aircraft. “The right way to go about it was to use tools that we would want to use in the long run, and to work in the cloud to ensure fast, secure access and global collaboration. When we selected the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, we were an early-stage startup with limited resources and time. We’ve developed our commercial-stage prototype faster than we imagined, and have already signed our first customer in the U.S.”

Eviation Aircraft realized that transforming a prototype into a product that can be manufactured by the hundreds each year would require empowering its engineers with the long-term knowledge and know-how to build it to maturity for the next generation.

Once commercialized, Alice will be the world’s first all-electric regional commuter aircraft, capable of carrying nine passengers and two crew on a single charge for 650 miles at 10,000 feet.

Dassault Systèmes
www.3ds.com

HCL Technologies, a global technology company, announced the release of CAMWorks ShopFloor, which provides tools for companies to meet Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 initiatives, by moving beyond 2D drawings or static digital files.

With CAMWorks ShopFloor, 3D digital models capture extensive data from the part design files and provide tools that machinists can use to produce parts with fewer miscommunications between the design and manufacturing departments.

Because CAMWorks ShopFloor is run independently, the need to have a full CAD/CAM software license on the shop floor is eliminated. CAMWorks and SOLIDWORKS CAM license customers will have the ability to publish data to CAMWorks ShopFloor.

CAMWorks ShopFloor reduces errors by eliminating the need to repeatedly transfer part data to 2D drawings or other formats. Upon completion of a CAD part file, the designer publishes a CAMWorks ShopFloor file, which is transferred to the machinist. CAMWorks ShopFloor includes a complete CAD viewer, allowing the machinist to display the native design model with GD&T dimensional information and annotations of the 3D part model. Machinists can rotate, zoom, pan and section view the model. They can also take linear, radial, angular, and area measurements. The MBD and PMI data can be viewed, searched and filtered.

Delays caused by questions and material waste caused by machining an outdated version of a part are avoided because CAMWorks ShopFloor provides a single source of part data. All the information for a part is contained in a single file and is viewed under a single interface. CAMWorks ShopFloor includes automatic file checking to detect changes in either the CAD or CAM file and alert the user, to avoid machining the wrong revision of the part and maintain associativity along the digital thread.

In addition to full toolpath simulation, CAMWorks ShopFloor also includes a step-through simulation option for each operation or the entire program. This gives the machinist the option to review each operation at the machine, without the need to walk the machine through each cutting step or dry-running the program.

A CNC Editor, with back-plotting capabilities, allows the machinist to review and make any final changes. The machinists can use CAMWorks ShopFloor to view and edit G-code, view the impact of the edits made, and then send the program to the CNC machine. Digital setup sheets and tool lists are also generated and can be sent along with the 3D part models and CNC programs.

HCL Technologies
www.hcltech.com