Double feature: Farnborough Air Show features advances in products and PLM

By Malcolm Wheatley, Senior Contributing Editor July 23, 2008

Held every two years, Europe’s Farnborough Air Show is where the global aerospace Siemens PLM Software to showcase stories from satisfied customers.

Take Russia’s first internationally designed and manufactured “paperless” aircraft, the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company ‘s SSJ100 regional airliner, which had its maiden flight on May 19, 2008—less than two months before the show. Boeing Aircraft Company and Airbus have been doing that for years—but Sukhoi’s determination to exploit

Siemens PLM Software’s Teamcenter software suite, it turns out, was central to this, with the project plan calling for Sukhoi to work closely with a team of international partners and aircraft systems suppliers throughout Western Europe and the United States.

“We set out with an aggressive plan and succeeded because of our collaboration with partners and suppliers powered by Teamcenter,” says Sukhoi President Viktor Soubbotin. “The collaborative technology played a central role in getting the SSJ100 into the air faster and at lower cost.”

In all, Teamcenter helped coordinate the efforts of approximately 1,700 Sukhoi engineers and manufacturing specialists spread over eight locations in Russia with a world-class team of partners

“Multiple CAD systems were harnessed together in a single PDM [product data management]of suppliers and experts, and driving down the aircraft’s development and manufacturing costs.”

Sukhoi wasn’t the only satisfied Siemens PLM Software customers at Farnborough. Saab Aerosystems , part of Sweden’s Saab Group, invested in Teamcenter four years ago to improve the PDM pof its JAS Saab 39 Gripen fighter plane, aiming to reduce development time and operating costs.

“Saab is an excellent example of an aerospace OEM that has taken a solid PLM platform and extended its MRO activities, recognizing that parts and logistics performance is just as important as raw aircraft importance,” maintains Nichols. “Its customers should all see improvements in their fleet availability, overhaul cycle time, and total cost per operating hour.”