Airbus harnesses Siemens' software for digital twins

The Capital platform will enable Airbus to develop electrical and electronic systems for aircraft more efficiently using digital twins on a backbone that integrates easily with other systems.

Siemens has been selected by Airbus to provide its Capital electrical/electronic (E/E) systems development software from its Xcelerator portfolio to speed up the development of commercial aircraft.

The Capital platform's comprehensive digital thread and openness are cited as the key elements that drove this selection, as this facilitates integration within the broader engineering enterprise. Siemens says its strong support along with technical workshops will help to accelerate new process design and adoption.

Capital is designed to deliver a true, configuration controlled, E/E system digital twin, supported by a comprehensive digital thread throughout the E/E system development, manufacturing and operational life cycle. Additionally, the open IT architecture and multi-domain integrations within Capital enable straightforward deployment into Airbus' Lean PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) environment and provides the backbone for E/E systems design and electrical harness manufacturing engineering across its multi-country development team.

E/E groups will work in a highly unified design environment that facilitates faster product development, optimised manufacturing of electrical systems, improved first-time-right electrical harness quality and smoother supply chain integration to generate architecturally-optimised design proposals, wiring and service documentation.

"Capital enables customers to establish digital continuity within the electrical domain to compress development cycle time and deliver significant cost reductions," says Martin O'Brien, senior vice president of Siemens Integrated Electrical Systems business group. "This is a game-changer in an industry looking to recover quickly from unprecedented challenges. By realising the benefits of a model-based development process, Capital helps world-class companies like Airbus reduce complexity, lower risk and boost overall productivity."