The document discusses optimizing electrical design processes for aircraft wire harnesses in manufacturing SMEs through HPC cloud technology. Key achievements include significant reductions in design time from 26 hours to 80 minutes, leading to increased competitiveness and profitability. It also highlights the transition from in-house HPC infrastructure to flexible cloud solutions, enabling better business models and market opportunities.

1. Enhancing Digital Transformation
in Manufacturing SMEs
22nd of May
Brussels
2015
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2. Stefan van der Elst (CTO)
Main Routing Architecture Optimisation in the Cloud
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MORE.CLOUD

3. INDEX
1. WHAT WE ACHIEVED
2. HOW WE DID IT
3. HOW I4MS HELPED
4. HOW WE WILL TAKE IT FORWARD
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4. WHO WE ARE
KE-works: Engineering Process Management
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 4
• SME tool vendor | 15 FTE | since 2008 | Delft, The Netherlands
• Solutions to optimise product development processes
• Engineering Process Management system: KE-chain
• Custom-build applications (Knowledge Based Engineering)
• Providing electrical design suite for aircraft wire harnesses

5. WHAT WE ACHIEVED
Experiment: Optimize electrical design of aircraft wire harnesses for weight and cost
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 5
• Characteristics A380: 100,000 wires; 530km length; 40,000 connectors
• Current process:
– Single design iteration: > 3 man-weeks; very vulnerable to changes
– Goal is to obtain a feasible solution; no trade studies or optimization is performed
• Demanding requirements on cost, weight & time-to-market
• Goal: reducing weight, cost and development time for aircraft wiring by
powerful optimization

6. WHAT WE ACHIEVED
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 6
HPC cloud enables larger profit margin, lowered risk and stronger market
position for wire harness manufacturer
• Optimized design within 80 minutes (instead of 26 hours)
• Enabled the ability to explore design options and perform trade studies
• Faster response time and higher fidelity estimations for proposals (RFPs)
• Thereby having a
– Larger profit margin and lower risk through improved fidelity (OEM)
– Increased competitiveness and higher chance of winning bids

7. WHAT WE ACHIEVED
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 7
• HPC offers flexibility in the usage of computational resources
• Affordable cost for high computational capabilities by a cloud of HPC
resources instead of maintaining an in-house HPC infrastructure
• HPC offers flexibility in software licenses resulting in lower cost
• Use of customized software licenses as-required instead of acquiring
long-term, on-site software contracts
HPC cloud combines improved performance with cost flexibility for licenses

8. HOW WE DID IT
Wire harness design process: define routing architecture
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 8
Make Main Routing
Architecture
Routing signals
throught aircraft
over main routes
Select Connectors

9. HOW WE DID IT
Wire harness design process: route signals
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 9
Make Main Routing
Architecture
Routing signals
throught aircraft
over main routes
Select Connectors

10. HOW WE DID IT
Wire harness design process: define harness interfaces
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 10
Make Main Routing
Architecture
Routing signals
throught aircraft
over main routes
Select Connectors

11. HOW WE DID IT
Wire harness design process: KBE apps & Simulation workflow
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 11
Make Main Routing
Architecture
Routing signals
throught aircraft
over main routes
Select Connectors

12. HOW WE DID IT
Easy access to HPC optimization via a Engineering Workflow platform
I4MS 2015: Enhancing Digital Transformation in Manufacturing SMEs · 22nd of May · Brussels 12

13. HOW WE DID IT
Business case
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• Comparing in-house and cloud HPC:
• Cost of computation on cloud HPC: EUR 660
• Cost of in-house HPC: 61 kEUR / year
• RFPs for design programmes only 1x per year so very expensive
to maintain an in-house HPC facility
• Comparing the current process w/ automated & optimized
• Increasing competitiveness with BRIC countries
• 2.5% recurring cost & weight reduction for multiple decades

14. • Low threshold for manufacturing companies to explore cutting edge
technologies
• Exploring new and innovative license and business models based on high-
performance and flexible solution for industry
• Connecting high potential and innovative SMEs throughout the value chain
• Potential new market opportunities
• Potential new technology partners
• Result: SMEs can be more competitive and improve products and services
HOW I4MS HELPED
Benefits of participating in the project:
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15. • Offer new services to KE-works’ customers:
• Enabled design exploration: extended the field of application of existing tools
• KBE simulation and workflows setup on a cloud HPC platform
• Exploration of design options via additional routing architecture variables,
resulting in even higher cost and weight savings in same amount of time
• Linux based KBE applications
• Noesis will exploit:
• HPC cloud computing integration into Optimus
• benefits of flexible elasticLM business models into Optimus
• Submit follow-up experiment proposals within I4MS
• Fortissimo 2: Experiment accepted, Near Real-time Analysis of Airframe
Certification Test data
• Cloudflow: Plans to submit Experiment proposal to Call 2
HOW WE WILL TAKE IT FORWARD
Identified opportunities
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16. THANK YOU
FOR YOUR ATTENTION
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