Solving the design cost conundrum

aPriori
aPriori

Pinning down the cost of manufacture for aerospace components can be a difficult business, however, aPriori offers an off-the-shelf software solution which is gaining increasing up take in the aerospace industry. Ed Hill discovers more.

When designing aerospace components weight and performance goals understandably take a high priority in this safety critical industry, but the cost of manufacturing is also an important consideration in an increasingly competitive market.

It is estimated that around 80% of the costs are locked in at the design stage, so it’s important that the best cost-effective design decisions are made early in the development process and resources are not wasted on iterations that prove too expensive to manufacture.

aPriori is a cost management software platform intended to help prime manufacturers and their suppliers produce an accurate and impartial estimate of manufacturing cost early on in the design phase.

Originally conceived for the agricultural machinery sector, the software uses numerous parameters, such as the manufacturing process, material cost, labour rates, energy consumption, cutting tool life and other factors to calculate the cost to manufacture a part based on a CAD (3D) model.

Scott Carlyle, executive vice-president for worldwide commercial operations at aPriori comments: “More and more manufacturing is being pushed into the supply chain by the OEMs and tier ones so their expertise in estimating cost of manufacturing is diminishing. A designer may come up with a concept of what a part should look like but not really consider or understand the consequences of its manufacturability.”

A simulated solution

According to Carlyle aPriori now includes more than 300 different manufacturing processes in its portfolio that can be used to assess a design. The software platform uses a simulated factory, or Virtual Production Environment (VPE), to calculate the cost of a component before it is manufactured.

“There are two elements to the VPE,” Carlyle explains. “One is the manufacturing processes that the factory is able to carry out and the second is the data from 67 Regions around the world. The data layer consists of expenditures like material cost, labour rates, and other overhead costs. aPriori first defines the process capability and then adds the data on top of that process.

“If we take a machined part that could be made on a 3-axis or 5-axis machine tool, one variability would be the number of set-ups. aPriori shows the client that there are two different machines that the part can be made on, but there are trade-offs based on the volume of parts required, machine availability, set-up time, etc. and they can then decide what particular machine to use in those circumstances.”

aPriori is not only used to evaluate cost considerations, but it can also help to assess the manufacturability of a design.

“To evaluate cost, you need to simulate the manufacturing process and the engineering reliability,” Carlyle states. “For example, if a design for an aircraft skin component includes holes, the edge distance may initially seem correct until the part is bent and it turns out it doesn’t work. aPriori is capable of checking a part and the manufacturing process to see if there are any edge distance issues or similar problems and immediately highlight them to a design engineer. The system then provides the user with manufacturability guidance to help them redesign the part so it meets performance and cost targets.”

In one example of an aerospace bracket, after the initial model had been put through design for manufacturing, changes suggested by aPriori it resulted in a saving of 24%.

Out of the box aPriori has baseline parameters that end users can use to create their cost models, these can be modified by the customer to suit their particular circumstances if needed. The software is also regularly updated to account for fluctuations in labour, material or process costs.

“The client has the opportunity to override and adjust baselines as they see fit. We usually help them with this when they first acquire the software so they can make adjustments in the future.”

Aerospace rib component in aPriori

Sourcing production

The software helps companies consider ‘Make or Buy’ options, select suppliers with specialist expertise, or procure parts from overseas suppliers if that proves more cost effective.

One of the biggest benefits the software brings to companies sourcing suppliers is the hastening of the quotation process. Carlyle asserts that it also enables better collaboration up and down the supply chain between the primes and their suppliers as it gives a detailed breakdown of manufacturing processes and costs that become transparent to both parties.

“Our clients are engaging with their suppliers and finding they get a much faster response to Requests for Quote (RFQ),” he says. “Having an accurate cost model means the customer can easily share that with a supplier who can then respond much quicker without having to make time consuming cost estimates themselves. We have some cases where the RFQ period has been reduced from six weeks typically to just three days.”

He continues: “Although there are IP considerations between buyers and suppliers the value of aPriori is that it can give an overall perspective that leads to better collaboration between the two and removes some of the friction from the relationship. It also means awarding contracts can be carried out much quicker which benefits everyone.”

The software has to keep pace with developments in manufacturing technology and new materials to give all the very best options for producing parts. In aerospace developments such as composites and additive manufacturing are being developed and enhanced.

“The aerospace sector is an early adopter of innovative processes such as additive manufacturing and composite materials,” Carlyle notes. “There are situations where designers are considering whether a part may be better made via additive manufacturing verses traditional machining processes, aPriori helps our customers with these kinds of decisions by providing the cost perspective based on manufacturing process and volumes.

“Additive manufacturing processes enable radically different design alternatives. These alternatives bring us closer to an optimal design. If we combine additive manufacturing and aPriori we get the ideal outcome that optimises around performance and cost.

“The software tools available for composite design and manufacturing are extensive but they are limited in terms of understanding the cost implications. This is an area where leveraging the power of a digital definition is underutilised, aPriori is working on changing this.”

A cast component being evaluated by aPriori

Time-saving paybacks

Carlyle estimates that on average, using aPriori reduces development cycle times by 25%, by minimising the redesign at the end of the development process or ‘Design Churn’ as he describes it, RFQs and product Time to Market.

Companies, such as Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems, GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney are already utilising it as a powerful tool to complement their product development. And they are also discovering uses beyond the original intent of the software platform’s developers.

“Large Aerospace companies use aPriori to rapidly classify their parts,” states Carlyle. “This enables companies to recognise that certain suppliers are excellent at making certain parts, for example, machining long thin titanium. If they can rapidly classify the thousands of parts they require, they can make sure they send the right designs to the right suppliers. Because classifying the processing of a part is one of aPriori’s baseline functions this can be done very easily.”

In a sector like aerospace where the development of new aircraft programmes can run into long delays and be prone to huge cost overruns, aPriori maximises the effectiveness of the design phase by dramatically reducing the time it takes to get a component from the design desk to the shopfloor.

“In aerospace there is always a quest for better optimised design alternatives based on performance, strength and weight, now we can also include cost in that equation,” Carlyle concludes. “We have clients who in the past may have completed just three or four design iterations, now they can do hundreds in a fraction of the time.”

www.apriori.com/aerospace

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aPriori

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