Modernisation wind and Bell Helicopter

MONTRÉAL, USA: Mentor Graphics Corp. announced that Bell Helicopter, a manufacturer of rotary wing aircraft, has been able to significantly streamline their wiring design processes on the Bell 525 Relentless program as part of its Business System Modernization systems upgrade.

Bell Helicopter, as explained further, achieved this improvement by adopting transformational technology delivered by Mentor Graphics Capital product family. The Bell 525 Relentless is said to be the first commercial helicopter to incorporate fly-by-wire control, and is scheduled to first fly in 2014.

Used by aerospace OEMs, the Capital suite is built to support the complex demands of integrated processes from initial aircraft definition through electrical system and design, harness manufacture and aircraft maintenance.

To integrate the electronic systems of this sophisticated platform, Bell Helicopter used the Capital suite's generative design technology. This process merges systems definition and platform packaging data with architectural design constraints to synthesize wiring and generate design documentation.

This methodology is new to the aerospace industry and provided multiple benefits, as the announcement explains. The synthesis technology gave Bell a means to evaluate alternative systems integration architectures very quickly in order to determine the optimum, for example to minimize platform weight. The Capital suite's generative design capabilities provided Bell Helicopter engineers the ability to evaluate change impact more easily and move decisions to earlier points in the design cycle, where the cost and effort of making changes is relatively low.

Complementing the Capital suite's constraints-based systems integration technology is the automatic creation of wiring diagrams. Wiring diagrams are key artifacts in aerospace electrical systems design processes. The self-documenting capabilities of the Capital suite provided Bell the ability to spend more time on design and less time with documentation.

Martin O'Brien, general manager of the Integrated Electrical Systems Division of Mentor Graphics said. "As we move forward, the increasing effect of regulatory requirements will put further attention on improving design processes. Companies such as Bell Helicopter are well placed to meet these demands efficiently."