SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO ALLOW JET engines to be more easily serviced is being employed in the development of the CFM International (CFMI) CFM56-7 turbofan engine, which will power the new-generation Boeing 737. The software, known as Product Vision and developed by the GE Research and Development Center in Schenectady, New York, and Evendale, Ohio-based GE Aircraft Engines, is used to ensure that components, such as fuel lines, are not located where they would obstruct access to other replaceable parts. The software does this by generating a three-dimensional representation of the volume which a component would "sweep" as it is removed from the engine. This "swept volume" is inserted into the computerised representation of the engine, becoming a "keep-out zone" which designers must avoid in locating components such as cables, tubes and brackets.
Source: Flight International
