• Structural Design of an Aerospace Structure                                                          

This project was undertaken for one of the aerospace companies and the challenge was to ensure that the structure designed by CSM met the stringent weight, airworthiness and structural integrity criteria. Composites were used extensively in the design. This ensured that the structure is lightweight and yet met all the prescribed design criteria. There was thus a saving of 30-40% in weight. The entire product life cycle involving concept, virtual design, simulation, testing and manufacturing was carried out.

This project was undertaken for one of the aerospace companies and it involved studying the effect of introduction of appendages and the effect it has on the flow in the downstream regions. The physics was captured using numerical techniques and simulated using advanced CFD tools such as STAR-CD.

Convergence of Engineering - IT Services                                                                                                        As sophisticated PDM systems get implemented, there are always points of convergence of Engineering and IT. Configuration of PDM systems, integration with CRM & ERP systems and other Enterprise wide systems are all points of convergence. This certainly is a large opportunity and only companies that understand the Engineering Services market can address this huge opportunity. Here again the contribution of Engineering Service Organizations is extremely valuable, and necessary, for Indian companies as they enlarge the manufacturing base of this country.

Role of technology                                                                                                                                                 This step is sort of a sequel to the earlier discussion on 'turning market information into product requirements'. Whereas in the front-end, the market information for the new product was captured by extensive collection of customer requirements, customer preferences and price-point, among other things, at the back-end it is the role of technology to utilize the information that has gone into product planning in creating the product marketing presentations. In other words, technology can help customers visualize product features that they had originally sought. While the product is being developed, visual 3D representations of products can be showcased to end customers to further refine product planning, greatly enhancing the success of the released product. Technology also plays a vital role in configuring complex product configurations. For example, a customer buying a plane may be able to decide on cabin configurations, seating layout, color schemes etc. by looking at simulations of the product before the product is actually manufactured. Similar uses can be found in various other fields also. Technological collaboration between the various stages of the product's life cycle (from the concept design stage to design, development, manufacture, marketing, servicing and finally retiring of the product in favor of a re-invented and re-designed new product) is critical for the success of the product.

The benefits of technology to today's product design, planning, manufacture and marketing lie in the successes achieved in Simulation or Virtual Product Development. This provides huge saving to the automotive and aerospace industries and all products in general by the reduction in product development time and cost by the near-total elimination of prototyping. The growth in manufacturing witnessed by Indian companies and India during the past few years, and the expected growth for the next many years, augurs well for the future for technology, engineering services, product planning, product marketing and product management.

Author is Founder Chairman & Managing Director, CSM group of companies consisting of CSM Software Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, India and CSM Software USA, LLC, California, USA  (www.csmsoftware.com)