Design; Development; Manufacturing Drawings; Documentation; Project Management; Supplier Liaison; Jigs and Fixtures; Testing; Prototyping
Detail from documentation showing just some of the OEM parts to be replaced.
Having had the need for a new product identified, we investigated the OEM variants to understand how existing lamp units could be integrated into a new design whilst ensuring that there was no weight gain (a key requirement).
One end bracket - optimised for function, weight control and manufacture.
A lightweight aluminium bracket was created for either end of the light housing, designed not only to fit all housing variations, but to use an existing approved-length harness. Using this and fitting to the existing housing minimised replacement costs for the fleet owners and simplified certification for STG.
When considering designs, the lifetime costs including tooling prompted a novel solution.
A cost analysis indicated that injection moulding for lamp holding would not be commercially prudent. Perdix Design suggested that 3D printing may be useful for this high value, but low turnover product and introduced STG Aerospace to a suitable supplier before creating a suitable fitting.
A multi-function bracket 3D printed in fire resistant glass filled nylon saved cost and part count whilst providing flexibility of installed location.
Existing ballast and electronics trays had to be removed and with them the mounting for harnesses and plugs. Perdix Design proposed using a 3D printed adapter that incorporated cable management features, mounted on a fire-rated acrylic plate. The novel use of the printed material was one of the first practical applications in commercial aviation. To ensure compatibility, the plate included multiple potential fixation points that enabled its use in several configurations. This markedly reduced certification costs.
3D printed assembly jig on CNC routed base, used for prototype and production builds.
3D printing was also used for the assembly jig devised by Perdix Design. Not part of the initial brief, this significantly reduced both times to build and to fit on aircraft as a pre-wired assembly. A work instruction was also produced by Perdix Design to ensure consistency of build and reliability.
Inside the modified prototype unit. All the replacements fit as a single sub-assembly.
Perdix design is familiar with packaging designs to function properly within a constrained envelope. Our knowledge of manufacturing and maintenance culture turns what could be a difficult exercise into a simple procedure.
Top view of a modified unit. The light coloured wiring is untouched OEM harness.
The final weight of the complete modification was 15% lighter than the OEM assembly, exceeding the target requirement.
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