A few days ago, after looking at some videos on my favorite fighter, the Dassault Aviation Rafale, YouTube proposed me this old archive one from our french INA.

After seeing all those old pictures explaining what would be Rafale main characteristics, I just asked myself (one more time I know)

What if... Dassault Aviation Rafale had been designed using 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA ?

3DEXPERIENCE CATIA

We all know that the Rafale has been designed in CATIA V4 and then V5, as you can see on some videos available here..

But now, CATIA is fully integrated in our 3DEXPERIENCE platform and has great new capabilities.

Of course, the first obvious answer to my anachronistic initial question is that the 3DEXPERIENCE Virtual Twin of the Rafale, from Concept to Preliminary and Detailed Design, could have been designed in CATIA.

Starting from the initial sketches...

...to all the external surfaces...

...and all the mechanical parts and assemblies, whatever is the type of the part: machined, composite, 3D printed, etc...

It's now possible to create the complete detailed digital mock-up of the plane, with all its fasteners.

And of course, all these design processes can be performed since the beginning of the project, for the prototype...

to the "in service" plane and its different standards.

But our beloved CATIA is today magic : the Rafale is a system of systems, all the system engineering processes requested to develop such a powerful fighter should have been done in CATIA Magic, with the Cyber MagicGrid methodology.

Thanks to CATIA Magic capabilities, the 3DEXPERIENCE Virtual Twin of the Rafale should contain the descriptions of

• Requirements / specifications of the plane, based on missions description,
• All the Functions its has to provide to its users,

• Logical architecture, for all disciplines.

Mixing this System Engineering methodology and the Digital Mock-Up, it then possible to check

• sub-system integration (such as the radar for instance)

• weapons integration

• relationships with the pilot and co-pilots

• integration with maintenance system

• etc...

Even all the different liveries for special events can be designed in 3DEXPERIENCE CATIA.

All the different versions and standards of this fighter jet that will be developed during the operational life of this system should have been managed in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

3DEXPERIENCE platform

As CATIA is now fully integrated in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, all what has been created in CATIA can be reused in our other brands.

First of all, still looking at System Engineering, using 3DEXCITE applications, it's today possible to check the integration of the airplane on an existing airbase or aircraft carrier.

And this can be done both for the 3D physical integration, but for the system integration too.

Using ENOVIA applications, all the versions / configurations of the Rafale could have been managed in our 3DEXPERIENCE platform, using Relational Design for Mechanical and Shape Design if needed (as described here)

Thanks to SIMULIA, all what have been done for Aerodynamic, Structural, Thermal and other simulations (as visible here) could of course have be done in our platform, but this time in a fully integrated way.

All the stakeholders are indeed today able to work on the same data using our 3DEXPERIENCE platform, there no more need to "migrate" or "transfer" data for one software to another.

And thanks to DELMIA, the virtual factory can be defined, reusing here again existing CATIA data and specifications.

Even fasteners defined in the Digital Mock-Up can be consumed by DELMIA applications.

Of course, all the assets, all the experiences that have been developed to design, simulate and validate the fighter can be reused, in a System Engineering approach:

• to check its integration with other systems (for instance a US Aircraft Carrier or US fighters)

• to ease the development of other new systems, such as a UCAV which be controlled by the co-pilot of a Rafale
  • either a nEUROn, aslo designed in CATIA V5

• or a brand new UCAV, such as my Pegasus project here for the illustration

Related posts

All the content used here is freely inspired by Dassault Aviation Rafale, Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, CVN-69 Eisenhower.