Gaining competitive advantage by using rapid prototyping in aircraft modification

You are here: Homepage > Search

Gaining competitive advantage by using rapid prototyping in aircraft modification

Smith, S.L. / Paul, J.

Raytheon-Waco (formerly Chrysler Technologies Airborne Systems) is an aircraft modification facility in Waco, Texas, specializing in military, executive, and head-of-state aircraft modifications. The aircraft modification industry is highly competitive, with a variety of very competent companies constantly trying to increase market share and move into new markets. Raytheon-Waco is currently transitioning to a paperless design process, with the ultimate goal of performing all design, analysis, manufacturing, and aircraft installation from CAD (computer aided design) models without requiring paper drawings. Increased use of electronic models will also allow more parallel processes to be performed, eliminating many of the sequential design steps currently required. Among the steps that will be performed in parallel will be detailed design, manufacturing and installation planning, technical publications, and design analysis. Without improved initial designs, parallel work will only lead to increased rework and wasted effort. Rapid prototyping is a key factor in reducing risks associated with concurrent processes, and its benefits are critical to efforts to reduce the cost and schedule of future aircraft modifications.