Dassault Systèmes today announced that it has partnered with the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) to open an innovation center at Wichita State University (WSU) to advance the use of new technologies such as additive manufacturing that will shape the future of the aviation industry.
The 3DEXPERIENCE Center will be part of WSU’s Innovation Campus. Wichita, Kansas is considered to be the epicenter of aerospace education; WSU ranks first in the United States in industry expenditures on aerospace research and development, according to the National Science Foundation.
The 3DEXPERIENCE Center will focus on enabling advanced product development and manufacturing, next generation manufacturing materials and technologies using Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and brand applications, including:
• Development of new engineered materials with BIOVIA applications (for example, Materials Studio),
• Simulation and optimization of materials, additive manufacturing processes and systems,
• Multi-Robotics Advanced Manufacturing (MRAM), with DELMIA multi-scale manufacturing, and
• Certification of the end-to-end process, integrating various levels of complexity and scale—from specific molecular material to the whole product, from specific manufacturing process to integrated and global production processes, and from system to systems of systems, with the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.
Additive manufacturing promises companies the ability to design any shape without restriction, giving the opportunity to create a paradigm shift in the industry. Manufacturers can reduce waste by up to 90 percent and eliminate mistakes which impact quality and cost.
“Additive manufacturing has high potential for aerospace and other industries, and goes far beyond just 3D printing. It requires an understanding of new materials down to the molecular level, how those materials perform under any scenario, how they can be expediently and cost-effectively manufactured and how each piece of the ultimate system can be certified,” said Michel Tellier, Vice President, Aerospace & Defense Industry, Dassault Systèmes. “The center will leverage the 3DEXPERIENCE platform’s immersive and robotic applications and Dassault Systèmes’ expertise in materials and simulation. Tomorrow’s materials will push the evolution of airplane design, production and operation into a new era.”
“Dassault Systèmes is an essential partner in WSU’s Innovation Campus, a world class center where researchers, students and industry come together to experience their ideas,” said John Tomblin, WSU vice president for research and technology transfer and NIAR executive director. “The 3DEXPERIENCE Center provides the capability to go from the concept, to a full experience of the idea, to the realization of seeing that idea being developed and manufactured – all made possible with the Dassault Systèmes platform. It will be a core enabler of additive manufacturing in aerospace as well as other industries.”
Dassault Systèmes and WSU/NIAR have long collaborated on developing a common roadmap targeting aviation innovation. Most recently, the two entities worked together to finalize Dassault Systèmes’ “Passenger Experience” industry solution experience launched in June 2015.
