Angle: Boeing, the next new model development is "Metaverse"

[Seattle/Paris 17th Reuters] - In the future Boeing factory, robots with immersive 3D engineering design and the ability to communicate with each other have been introduced, and one mechanic from around the world is $ 3500 (about 40).It will be connected via the Microsoft headset "Holorens" of 10,000 yen.

This future image is a boeing ambitious strategy that integrates a wide range of designs, production and aircraft operations into a single digital ecosystem in a minimum of two years.

Boeing has repeatedly repeated bold declarations about the digital revolution, but has criticized that the results are not good.However, according to stakeholders who are familiar with the situation, the urgency and importance of the goal of improving quality and safety is increasing for the company, which is working on many threats.

Boeing's 2022 goal is to regain its advantage in engineering, which was in danger of a series of 737 max, and to establish a future 10 -year aircraft development plan.This is a struggle that bet $ 15 billion (about 1.7 trillion yen).There is also an aim to prevent problems such as structural flaws that have pulled the 787 dream liner's feet in the past year.

"In short, it's a strengthening engineering," said Greg High Slop, a Boeing Chief Engineer.Nearly two years, he responded to Reuters after a long absence."We are talking about changing the way we work in the whole company."

Boeing has been competing intensely with Airbus for many years, but this time a new battle has been held on the stage of the manufacturing site to meet the swelling demand.

The Gyome Folly, the Chief Executive Officer of Airbus, who once led the R & D department of automakers, said, "Inventing a new manufacturing system and utilizing the power of data to optimize the airbass industrial system.Is declared.

The approach that Boeing has adopted so far has been noticeable that it will gradually advance individual jet development programs and processing methods, rather than renewing the system as a whole, which is a characteristic of the current initiatives.

The initiatives promoted by both aircraft giants symbolize the global -scale digital revolution.Social media companies such as Ford and other automakers and Facebook's parent company Meta Platforms are also shifting their work and entertainment to the immersive virtual world, sometimes called "metaverse."

So how do you use aircraft manufacturing, common digital spaces that use VR (virtual reality) and AR (expansion reality) via the Internet?

As with Airbus, Boeing aims for the next new machine to build and link a replica that can be called the new model 3D "Digital Twin (twins)" in the virtual world, and run it.

"Digital sled" supports the full -scale model on the digital.Connect all information about the aircraft from the very early stage of the manufacturing.For example, the requirements from the airline, the number of millions of points, thousands of pages of authentication -related documents, and the details of the supply chain are recorded.

If you renew the old -fashioned paper -based practices, you may have a powerful change.

Heislop says that more than 70%of the quality troubles in Boeing are derived from some design problems.The company believes that these tools will be a pillar in order to launch new aircraft in a minimum of 4-5 years from the start of development.

"Speed up, quality improvement, communication improvement, and speed of reaction when there is any problem."

"If the quality of the supplement is improved, the aircraft manufacturing is integrated more smoothly, and the processing can be minimized, the financial performance will increase."

The challenge is a mountain stack

But these plans have a huge number of issues.

Sorry people point out the technical issues of the mini jumbo machine 777X developed by Boeing using a digital tool and the military jet training machine T-7a Redhawk.

In addition, Richard Abrafia, an analyst of the aerospace and defense industry investigative company Teal Group, has sacrificed the superiority of engineering in terms of shareholder profit bias, and has continued to reduce R & D costs.He says he is.

"Is it worth working? Of course it's Jesus. But the answer is no answer to all Boeing problems."

Large companies, such as Sprint Aero Systems, a aircraft parts manufacturer, are already investing in digital development technology.Major aircraft manufacturers are in partnership with French Software Development Companies Dassau Systems.However, hundreds of small suppliers that spread throughout the world have no capital or human resources that promote digitalization at once.

Many suppliers have been weakened by 737MAX and the new colon virus, after the cost reduction pressure from Boeing and Airbus over the past decade.

"Can you not only instruct what kind of hardware to buy, but also push the digital junk that only looks good," is a word from a certain supplier company.

"long way to go"

Boeing himself is understood that digital technology alone does not become a silver bullet.Several industry officials say that Boeing must achieve organizational and cultural reforms as a whole company.

Boeing recently selected Linda Hap Good, an experienced engineer as a partition for Digital Transformation.According to an industry official, it is a project with more than 100 engineers.

Famous for Hap Goods, the wiring diagram of the 767 tanker, which was a black -and -white and paper -based 767 tanker, was converted to 3D and distributed the tablet and AR headset "Holo Lens" to the mechanics.According to a stakeholder, the reform improved the quality by 90%.

Hap Good, in a new mission, has hired engineers who have been working on the Digital Twin of the next middle range aircraft (NMA), which has been abandoned.

He also has the lessons learned from the unmanned aerial aerial refueling aircraft MQ-25 and the T-7A Red Hawk.

In the development of T-7A, Boeing was "manufactured" on the simulator following the model-based design.The T-7A was launched on the market after just 36 months of development.

Nevertheless, the T-7A manufacturing plan is suffering from parts shortages, design delays, and requests for additional examinations.

Boeing has started digital development at a factory in Washington, which produces 777X wings, and has been driven by digitally optimizing layouts and robots.However, the entire 777X plan has been delayed for many years than planned, and is suffering from authentication issues.

"It will be a long way," said High Slop."The initiatives so far have been dealt with the part of the problem. But what we want now is to do it in a new way from end to end."