Digital manufacturing is the next frontier for advancements in manufacturing, as it has the potential to address the unique challenges of the aerospace and defence sector.
For aerospace and defence, manufacturing is a whole new ball game. From higher costs to graver consequences, the aerospace and defence industry has to be diligent first and productive later.
Can digital manufacturing address the unique challenges posed by the sector?
The Edge of Digital Manufacturing
Digital manufacturing enriches manufacturing services, supply chains, products and processes with computer systems. It is not automation; instead, it is a comprehensive pipeline of data across the gamut of production. From prototyping to production to supply, digital manufacturing creates an integrated approach by linking systems and processes.
“The three ambits under digital manufacturing are product life cycle, smart factory and value chain management. The product life cycle starts with the design and goes on to sourcing, production and after-sales service. At each life cycle stage, specific technologies can enable higher productivity. Aerospace majors like Boeing hire a team of flight simulation engineers that first create a computer model of an aircraft. Rigorous simulation rules out a high percentage of errors. Further, it enables faster and cheaper prototyping,” explained an expert, who wished to remain anonymous.
Speaking to Financial Express Online on the sidelines of the ongoing DefExpo 2022, he said, “To bring to market, technologies enable the estimation of ideal suppliers that minimize bottlenecks and maximize productivity. Even the customer-facing setup goes online with all processes and systems communicating.
A smart factory incorporates sensors, intelligent machines and tools to increase accuracy and precision and render real-time feedback. It is abundantly easier to monitor the progress and intervene if required at a macro level. This is not only a monitoring tool but also an estimating one. With a generous amount of data generated, it is only time that it aids predictive modelling. Based on existing inventory, pending orders, as well as the pace of the production line, the system may alert when the next procurement might be required.”
The value chain management builds on the same foundation and focuses on reducing resources. Such a comprehensive data-backed approach is bound to impact the turnaround time positively.
Pixelated Path to Digitisation
For the current aerospace and defence sector, the movement from digital emergent to digital leader is arduous. In a recent report by McKinsey, the majority of the firms rely on something other than digital and analytical feedback to inform their product designs or improve throughput and quality. Engineering impact from design to production compounds, and so does the degree of inefficiencies.
“A method for transporting the entire sector forward is the standardisation of digital manufacturing. The sector as a whole can adopt common standards, APIs and data-sharing practices and a single source for data. This will enable the entire industry to embrace digital manufacturing without breaking the bank. This inter-company cooperation must be mirrored with intra-company cross-functional teams that consume data analytics proactively,” he explained.
The immediate impact of digitisation will be felt in procurement. Some OEMs have already started strapping sensors to their products to forecast inventory requirements and where the inventory should be held to optimise cost and response times.
The bane of most aerospace and defence companies has been the need for a believable view of their manufacturing performance. The use of analytics can improve maintenance, automation, performance management, quality and throughput.