Composite design software reduces engineering time on Eurofighter parts

Composite design software is helping engineers from British Aerospace to reduce significantly engineering time on composite parts for the Eurofighter 2000 aircraft. FiberSIM’ simulation software from Composite Design Technologies (CDT), Waltham, Massachusetts, allows manufacturing engineers to define the composite lay‐up on a computer, eliminating the old, industry‐wide trial and error process that was used to lay composite plies onto a complex surface. The new technology ensures that manufacturing reflects the design intent and reduces weight by avoiding unnecessary patches. British Aerospace also expects additional production time savings by using the software to program laser projection equipment.