Lockheed Martin Expands Dassault Systèmes Solutions Applications

Beijing, March 28, 2011 – Dassault Systèmes, a global leader in 3D technology and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace manufacturer ) has upgraded its F-35 Lightning II robotic drawing work cell to Dassault Systèmes' DELMIA robotic system solution. As a long-time user of DELMIA's manufacturing simulation solutions, Lockheed Martin's latest adoption of the DELMIA robotic system has greatly improved the company's manufacturing efficiency by leveraging the common interface between CATIA's design creation and DELMIA's digital manufacturing solutions. Lockheed Martin has achieved great success with the previous generation of the DELMIA robot simulation solution. Simulation techniques are used to verify that the robot can reach all preset draw positions while avoiding collisions. Automating the drawing and coating process not only saves a lot of time, but also allows for better control of the process. In addition, there is another great benefit of protecting workers from potentially harmful paint fumes. Because Lockheed Martin's NC programmers are already familiar with the CATIA interface, they can not only easily perform the robot support role, but also better use the software to create production programs. Lockheed Martin is currently using the robotic solution in two different automated mapping cells configured on a moving rail system. A three-robot unit is dedicated to mapping the exterior of the aircraft, while a two-robot unit is configured to handle various F-35 components. Both physical cell and robot programming enable a high degree of design flexibility through optimization and verification procedures in the virtual DELMIA environment, ensuring that the company can meet the drawing requirements of different component combinations at different times. The enhancements inherent in the DELMIA Cenit FASTSURF solution make it easier to modify existing robot programs, resulting in significant time savings. With previous generation solutions, any single modification to the component design required many repeated rework. Now with FASTSURF, adjustments to modifications can be easily accomplished by simply adding new parameters to the setup strategy. In addition, the solution enables Lockheed Martin to monitor coating thickness through a query option at any point in the application, a critical factor in ensuring aircraft meet design requirements. Niall Cullen, Cenit Account Manager, said: 'Working closely with a visionary company like Lockheed Martin, Cenit has fully demonstrated the excellent value of our FASTSURF solution. Its in-depth experience in Robotic OLP is essential to realize the needs of the aerospace industry. Precision and production-enhancing solutions are paramount.” said Steve Milliren, executive account manager for DELMIA Aerospace at Dassault Systèmes, “Lockheed Martin quickly learned that having all engineers working in CATIA and The powerful advantages gained from using the same user interface paradigm between DELMIA solutions. By taking full advantage of DELMIA robotic system solutions, we not only obtain a common structure for convenient communication, but also eliminate the translation process of data translation, thereby Data integrity is greatly improved.” In addition to the DELMIA robotic system solution, Lockheed Martin uses Dassault Systèmes’ virtual ergonomics solution and DPM assembly solution.