By Verdi Ogwell
Big things are quietly happening in the aerospace industry, related to 3D model-based definition (MBD). We are talking about what can become a key step in the aerospace & defense industry’s transition from paper-based documentation of product development to 3D model-based documentation. As it is now, for example, the authority-related certifications are mainly based on paper documentation, while the aerospace industry has long since switched internally to working with digital 3D models. This is not an ideal relationship.
Today, this discrepancy has been met by some interesting work. In a recent report, the Aerospace & Defense PLM Action Group (A&D PAG) has developed a 3D Model-Based Definition solution for Type Design Certification, containing a list of their detailed requirements for the minimum data items required.
“It’s time to move forward towards the goal of retiring drawing-based concepts,” says Brandon Sapp from Boeing Enterprise Engineering. He has also been project manager for the A&D MBD working group over the past year.
Dr. Ken Versprille, executive consultant at CIMdata, which administers this important group, agrees. “These detailed requirements represent a watershed milestone in CAD,” he says. “We know of no other industry that has collectively documented their agreed-upon detailed MBD requirements. The effort provides both standards bodies and solution providers alike a road map for their future efforts in data exchange.”
“The research in this report is the first step in defining the semantic requirements for that information with the goal of retiring paper-drawing-based concepts,” says Boeing's Brandon Sapp in a comment about the A&D PAG report.
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The full position paper Minimum Model-Based Definition (MBD) for Type Design Certification is available for download from the AD PAG website here.
