Implementing Model‐Based Systems Engineering for the Development and Support of an Additive‐Layer Manufacturing Plant in the Aerospace Context

Abstract

AbstractOne of the revolutionary changes of the 21st century in the aerospace industry is the emergence of Additive Layer Manufacturing or 3D printing technology. This is so for a number of reasons. There is virtually no material waste in the production process. Existing aircraft parts of current designs can be produced in less time and for a fraction of the cost, whilst still meeting the ‘form, fit and function’ requirements of those existing parts. Modified parts that are stronger and lighter, but which could not previously be produced with traditional manufacturing methods and tools, can be designed and produced. Going even beyond parts, new designs will increasingly be enabled with larger ALM machines that are capable of printing much larger components, which have most of the traditional parts already integrated. This dramatically reduces manufacturing and assembly times and costs, as well as weight, while increasing the level of functional integration by such components.This paper reports on the application of MBSE for the development and support of a new ALM Plant in the UK. The establishment of this ‘ALM System’ followed years of cutting‐edge research activities on laser and electron beam powder bed technologies. The requirements for and the solution architecture of the ALM System were developed using various methods and supporting tools, until the requirements cascade and part of the corresponding system design, down to the level of certain detailed production processes, was modeled in SysML using MagicDraw.