GENERATIVELY DESIGNED FACTORY
Due to the triangular
shape of the plot of
land on which it is to
be built, Airbus used
generative design
techniques to design
the most efficient
factory floor possible
within this footprint.
can be fabricated at scale more
affordably.
“The revised design makes the
bionic partition much more viable
for production. The first prototype
is in production, which we hope to
finish before the end of the year,”
says Schaefer. “The process and
technology have evolved to where we
can now manufacture multiple units at
a considerably lower cost.”
From this, Airbus moved on
to optimising critical exterior
components like the nacelles for the
engines and the vertical
tail plane (VTP). The
purpose of a VTP
(or vertical
stabiliser) on an airplane is to
provide directional stability and
reduce aerodynamic inefficiency
caused by side-to-side movement.
Generative design is enabling the
team to evaluate hundreds of design
alternatives that all meet objectives
for VTP stiffness, stability and mass.
The leading edge of the VTP has been
3D printed from metal into a lattice
structure that is incredibly stiff, as light
as possible and resistant to impact.
VR TESTING
This same design principle is
beginning to be applied to the
leading edges of the wings too. But
generative design is much more than
topology optimisation of
parts, it can also
be used
to tackle complex engineering,
architectural and systems challenges.
“All of this grew out of the work
Airbus and Autodesk did four years
ago,” says Andrew Anagnost, CEO
of Autodesk. “And today, we are
working together to figure out how
automation could help Airbus with a
much bigger challenge. From their
early work on structural optimisation,
they’ve shifted their focus to systems
optimisation, from parts like these
to the processes that go into making
them in factories like the one in
Broughton, UK, where the A350’s
wings are assembled.”
The assembly line involves
a lot of human labour: drilling,
cleaning, bolting, riveting, sealing,
24 hours a day in three shifts, and
all these different tasks require
different tools. Going back and
forth between the wing and the
tool trays, the carts and the storage
racks involves a lot of walking. And
while this walking might feel like
work, it isn’t really work at all,
it’s simply activity.
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