Kota can now feel proud with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) inking a $3.2 -million pact with US-based Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC)
recently for worldwide marketing of ADA software, Autolay. With this, ADA gets due recognition of being one of the key technology players in the globalCAD/CAM scenario alongside IBM's CATIA Composites, Unigraphics'PACKS and Vistagy's FiberSIM -all from the United States.
Autolay's achivement lies in the fact that is unique in offering design integrated virtual manufacturing capability for laminated composite components. Also, Airbus Industries,decision to go in for Autolay for their
latest 600-seater A-380 project demonstrates beyound doubt that this software is best -in-class inthe area of composites.
"This is a significant archivement considering the fact that, probably for the first time, a software product of such technical excellence is exported at a time when the focus of indian software industry is oriented more towards providing service than product innovation. This gives credence to the fact that a high-tech project like LCA leads to many spin
-offs thus empowering the technology base and also bolstering the economic strength of the country", says Dr B.G.Prakash, group director and chief systems engineer , Computer-Aided Engineering Group, ADA. It is noteworthy that LCA uses as high as 45 percent composite in its airframe .
Composite structure owe their lightweight characteristicsto the desiner freedom to place the load carrying material only where it is required.This is achived by using
lightweight, high-strength fibers embeded in a resign matrix which can be oriented during the manufacturing proces to suit the desiner's requirments .
Autolay enables parellel processing of composite design activities viz..,details design studies,laminate engineering and generationof design&manufacturing drawings ,thus providing concurrrent engineering benifits in a project environment. The resulting data is accessible for tool design ,lay-up process (both manual and automatic),and
generation of substructure drawings,without any loss of geimetric information and thereby help in striving towards the concept fo paperless design office .
Development of Autolay is the result of more than 300 man-years'effort over the last 13 years . Dr Prakash and his team saw extremly turbulent times when the software industry took away many bright engineers from the government sector .
"It is a great milestone that ADA emerged winner in the
global competitionand attracted composites experts from Airbus Industrie", says Dr Prakash .
The acceptance of Autolay by international leaders like PTC Airbus Industrie proves that defence R&D Programmers create the necessary momentum for a country to advice from import substitiution to indigenous innovation with associatedtechnological spin-offs .
"This should put at rest the often touted misconception that our scientists and engineers are good only at theoretical research and not
at handling applied science and engineering", feels Dr Prakash .
- Thanks to Times of India
