TABLE OF CONTENTS Alan K. Jones, The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA, USA
We survey CAD geometry algorithms currently in use at the Boeing company. Geometry creation, NC tool path generation, and visualization are well represented. Other areas, for example path planning for assemblability or maintainability, are not so widely used. We illustrate the principle that each design or manufacturing process, together with the algorithms that support it, is embedded in a network of upstream and downstream processes. Thus, each algorithm imposes constraints on, and is constrained by, many others. Finally, we discuss the difficulties of technology transfer. That is, how does one ensure that new mathematical techniques are actually used, and actually contribute to the profitability of the company?
This paper is a brief survey of CAD geometry algorithms in the aerospace industry, and in Boeing in particular. Nothing in this work is to be construed as an official statement or position of The Boeing Company. Rather, it reflects the personal perspective and personal opinions of the author. The following background may help the reader appreciate what that perspective is.
Like any major corporation, Boeing is a big place, and not by any means a unified one. To begin with, there is a major split between the commercial and military sides of the house, the Commercial Airplane Group (BCAG) and the Defense and Space Group (BDSG). Within those groups, it has historically been organized around programs. In BCAG, for example, there are five major programs corresponding...
