Take off for virtual prototypes

By David Reid Reporter, BBC Click Online

By doing away entirely with physical prototypes, a French aircraft manufacturer has found that virtual reality can deliver very real savings, reports David Reid.

The Falcon 7X's entire production process is anticipated electronically

From super jumbo to microlight, getting a project such as a plane off the ground can take thousands of hands and even more moving parts.

Planes are complicated things to make, and the journey from drawing board to jet stream can be a long haul.

Among the most time consuming and expensive stops on the way are the various mock ups and prototype stages, which stand between aircraft idea and actuality.

The French company Dassault, which makes those business jets of which many of us dream but few get to run their fingers through the shag-pile of, has worked out a way to sidestep the more exacting demands of the physical world.

Their latest offering, the Falcon 7X, is the first aircraft to be designed entirely in virtual reality.

Its engineer Jerome Camps says: "From the early stages we have been in a position to understand not only the way that we would design the airplane, but also understand how we would assemble it, manufacture it, maintain it, how we would support the aircraft in service.

"All this being anticipated electronically, from design using those revolutionary tools."

Immense detail

There is nothing new in aircraft being designed by computer. These days you can put a plane through a wind-tunnel without spoiling your hairstyle. You can even see who would come off best in an argument between migrating bird and business jet without ruffling the feathers of any wildlife.

The simulation even plans how a mechanic might work on a part

However, in producing the 7X, Dassault has simulated every step in the production process.

That has meant the company has been able to plan in immense detail the tools needed for each job, the form the factory would take, and the movements of those putting the plane together.

In the end, the final stage of construction was easier than putting together an IKEA towel rack. Well, almost.

But it does not end there. The company also took into consideration later maintenance, and whether a mechanic would be physically capable of reaching and working on a part.

Jerome Camps says: "We have been in a position to anticipate and validate electronically every single critical maintenance task without having to wait for the first physical parts to be manufactured and assembled."

Perfect product

Like lots of products, aircraft manufacture involves many more companies than just the name that appears on the fuselage.

Doing it right the first time is the best way to save money Olivier Villa, Dassault

The 30 or so firms involved in making the Falcon shared a single database, so those companies scattered across the globe working on the design could see the aircraft in the round and collaborate over this virtual mock-up on any alterations.

The result was that the first plane off the production line was perfect. And with no physical prototype, manufacturing and tool costs were cut in half.

Even at the top end there is a bottom line, as Olivier Villa, the head of Civil Aircraft at Dassault Aviation, explains.

With every step planned virtually, costs can be cut in half

"When we deal with such a high technology product, we cannot find a good solution by cheap, low-cost manufacturing or cheap engineering.

"Doing it right the first time is the best way to save money, because from the first aircraft on you have perfect quality. You don't have to touch up anything. You don't have to redo anything. Your production line is smooth."

On its first run around the block, test pilots reported that it flew just as it did in the flight simulator, not that that is likely to impress potential clients.

With a price-tag of $40 million (£22 million), it is the walnut finish and leather trim that clients are interested in.

And thanks to Dassault's simulations potential buyers can get a good idea of the feeling inside even before the plane has gone into production.

---

Click Online is broadcast on BBC News 24: Saturday at 2030, Sunday at 0430 and 1630, and on Monday at 0030. A short version is also shown on BBC Two: Saturday at 0645 and BBC One: Sunday at 0745 . Also BBC World.