David Ziegler, Vice President, Aerospace & Defense, Dassault Systèmes, shares what he’s looking forward to at this year’s Farnborough Airshow.

Joining Dassault Systèmes in January 2018 as Vice President, Aerospace & Defense, David Ziegler leads Dassault Systèmes’ worldwide aerospace and defense business.  He was formerly an executive at Airbus. This year will be Ziegler’s first Farnborough Airshow with Dassault Systèmes. He shares what he hopes to gain from the event.

What are you looking forward to at Farnborough?

The highlight for me will be connecting with our OEM and supplier customers to discuss and show how we might help them. I’ll also enjoy the unique aspect of meeting at an airshow — having the opportunity to see customers’ products flying through the sky.

Our team also looks forward to hosting those interested in optimising manufacturing  at our Executive Roundtable on Manufacturing Agility. Those interested should email us to receive an invitation.

Industry expert, Anthony Velocci, former Editor in Chief, Aviation Week & Space Technology, said: “The manufacturing landscape is changing dramatically. Creating and capturing value in this new environment requires companies to not just understand what’s driving these changes, but also grasp just how consequential a role digital transformation will play in determining their future.”

We welcome Tony as a participant. Questions the group will address include:

– How do OEMs and suppliers strengthen their joint capabilities?
– Which technologies are the most critical?
– How do you capture, protect and leverage the knowledge of your internal and external teams?
– How do you predict how products will perform before they are manufactured?

Special guests also include:

Ivan Madera, CEO Morf3D, Tier 1 Additive Manufacturer

Marc Saunders, Director – Global Solutions Centres, Renishaw

Tech playground

The team has also been busy preparing our tech ‘playground’ where we’ll show customers what technology marvels are possible to help drive business.

Airbus Accelerating Innovation: We worked with Airbus to meet their objective to accelerate the time it takes to deliver a design – normally taking over a year.  Testing its capabilities, Airbus used the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to transform how they worked. See a virtual and scaled model to learn how they developed the Thrust Reverser Unit (TRU) prototype and exceeded their expectations. The TRU concept to full scale functioning prototype by the numbers:
We will have some surprises to reveal on the progression of our industry solution experiences and brand applications running on our 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

– 84 days
– 31 people
– 4 countries
– 3 languages
– ONE platform

Electromagnetic Simulation: It is now more important than ever for aerospace engineers to understand how an aircraft behaves during a lightning strike. Traditional aluminum and titanium aircraft are effective conductors and tolerate lightning strikes well. Newer carbon fiber composite materials, used to reduce weight and lower fuel costs, is much less conductive and offers less shielding for electronics inside the aircraft. Physical testing with a full-sized prototype is difficult, while scaled-down models don’t accurately capture how lightning behaves.  See our demo of Electromagnetic Simulation (EM) simulation with a digital mock-up (DMU) and why this alternative approach offers engineers a more robust picture of exactly what happens to the aircraft during a lightning strike.

What has your team been up to in the United Kingdom lately?

Recently the team from our manufacturing application, DELMIA Apriso worked with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, part of The University of Sheffield. Partnered with the Integrated Manufacturing Group they worked on a project using advanced manufacturing techniques and processes based on the DELMIA Apriso Manufacturing Execution System (MES).  A key value of the Apriso MES is that it intelligently shares information, so if the specification for a component or work instruction changes, the system updates and keeps the assembly process running effectively.

We are also proud associate members of the National Composite Centre (NCC) since 2012. NCC uses the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and industry solutions in support of research programs with their customer members.  While the projects are confidential, we hope to have permission to highlight some soon

What does Dassault Systèmes do for the aerospace and defence industry?

Almost every plane in the sky has been designed with our software.  We work with leaders in aerospace and defense as they grow and manage through an exciting era of change, for example,

– Commercial aircraft demand is booming;
– Pressure from original equipment manufacturers is increasing on the supply chain
– Suppliers, from propulsion to lower-tier component providers are working to keep up with airframe makers’ output.

Our aerospace and defense solutions on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform are designed for and help solve aerospace and defense business and technical challenges.  Like me, my team has aerospace in their blood.  We look forward to the Farnborough International Airshow and the privileged to work with companies as they transform the way they develop and build products.

More about David

Vice President, Aerospace & Defense, David Ziegler leads the Dassault Systèmes worldwide business and development of its industry-leading solution experiences based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

Prior to this role, David held multiple positions in the aerospace industry, most recently at Paris Aéroports. Prior to Aéroports he spent 14 years with Airbus, based in both France and the U.S., holding positions in sales and business development.

David’s career in aerospace began when he obtained his Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Supaero, followed by an MBA from INSEAD. He also enjoys kite-surfing and spending time with his wife and two children.