ROLE OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS IN AEROSPACE INDUSTRY

Engineers in Aerospace Industry

The aerospace industry is technically complex. Engineers work on products that push the limits of
technology. The work involves designing components and systems and generating CAD models and
drawings; work such as fluids analysis or thermal analysis; manufacturing the technology; developing and
testing it; and supporting the products in service.

Big manufacturing companies include Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier, who design, manufacture and
build aircraft, and Rolls-Royce, General Electric and Pratt and Whitney, who design, manufacture and build
engines. Safran Landing Systems, Cobham and QinetiQ are other big names. There is a large network of
smaller suppliers who support the big companies.

Divisions of Aerospace Engineering

Aerospace Engineering consists of two main branches: Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.

Aeronautical Engineering involves aircraft that stay inside earth’s atmosphere. Ex: Airplanes, Gliders,
Helecopters.

Astronautical Engineering involves spacecraft that operate in outer space. Ex : Satellites, Space Ships
and Rockets.

Trends and developments in the aerospace industry

Areas receiving a lot of attention include unmanned aerial vehicles, supersonic aircraft, distributed
propulsion, electric aircraft, and higher bypass ratio engine products such as geared fans and open rotor
technology.

These are all potential areas to be pursued by the industry but their success depends on the regulatory
framework and the economics, such as oil prices and raw material costs, particularly the cost of some of the
expensive and rare metals that are used by the industry.

Fuel is by far the greatest cost associated with operating an aircraft or airline. Manufacturers need to
improve fuel efficiency by reducing the weight, drag and performance inefficiencies of their components and
systems. Issues of safety and reliability are also paramount for this sector, as is meeting or exceeding
environmental targets, such as reducing emissions or noise.

Factors affects for the development of Aerospace Engineering

 Project lead times are typically long compared to other industries due to the high level of regulation
and technical complexity. It can take up to 20 years to develop a new technology from start to finish.

Product life spans are also long. The products you work on could be in service for more than 25 years
and will form the basis of future technology.

It's a long journey so it's a collaborative effort. Engineers work in teams, which may include co-
workers but also suppliers, contractors and academic partners. Team sizes can vary from a few individuals
working on a specific problem all the way to hundreds of engineers developing and testing a new engine or
aircraft.

While mobility isn't essential in this sector, there are opportunities to work all over the world.

The aerospace industry seeks graduates from the following disciplines:

 aerospace/aeronautical
 chemical

 control

 electrical

 electronics

 environmental

 instruments

 manufacturing

 materials

 mathematics

 mechanical

 physics

 power systems

 software
 The aircraft is broadly divided into mechanics and avionics section. The avionics section deals with the
electrical connections and the sensors yo be installed and operated in the aircraft.

The mechanics portion is largely dealt by mechanical engineers. The major components of an aircraft: the
fuselage, wing, landing gear, tails, engine are under the scope of mechanical engineers

Fuselage deals with airframe construction. It uses the laws of strength of materials, structural mechanics.

Wings deal with aerodynamics, CFD analysis and optimization.

Landing gear deals with hydraulic systems and the circuit dealing the retracting mechanism.

The tails are similarly related to aerodynamics.

The propulsion system: the engine is related to thermal system design for thrust.

Each component of the aircraft deals with a specific aspect that we have been taught as an undergrad in
mechanical engineering.

Air-frame design is done by mechanical engineers, all other general mechanical systems also depend on
mechanical engineers.

Leaving us with manufacturing which is largely done by mechanical engineers.

Services That are Currently Outsourced to India

While outsourcing to India has become a notable trend, the number of activities being outsourced is
growing by the day. Our domain expertise in the aerospace and aviation industry includes concept, design
and analysis for a wide range of aircrafts. We provide the following services in the aerospace and aviation
industry:

 Linear and non-linear FE modeling and analysis

 2D drafting and 2D design services

 3D modeling

 CAD conversion services

 CAD migration services

 Drawing conversions

 Legacy data conversion

  Research and analysis outsourcing

 Casting services and design

 Sheet metal design services

 Embedded software development

 Offshore technical support services

 Surfacing services

 Software development and testing

 Research and development

 Mechanical designing

 MRO value chain automation

 Business transition system

 Safety critical systems development

 On-board / Non-critical systems development

 Process definition

 CNC / CMM Programming

 Production management

 Prototyping

 Tooling design

 Structural analysis of aircraft structures (ribs, spars)

 Rigid and flexible body dynamics simulations

Areas Covered in the Aviation Industry

 Outsource2india has a large number of skilled engineers who are competent to work on different aircrafts
such as Light Passenger Aircraft, Jet Trainers and Helicopters, besides others. They are also positioned to
effectively serve the aerospace industry in the areas of:

 Product design and development

 Embedded systems

 Product Life Cycle (PLC) management

 IT solutions

 Full Life Cycle safety / mission-critical software solutions

 Onboard software and hardware development

 Testing and integration

 Verification and validation

Tools and Technologies Used at Outsource2india

 MOKA
 ICAD Frameworks

 CAT Script

 VB Script

 C++

 Scripting for all major CAD / CAE tools

Advantages of Mechanical Engineering Services in Aerospace

By the influence of Mechanical engineering services that provides following benefits:

 Access to a large pool of highly-trained engineers

 Time-zone advantage

 Reduction in development costs

 Improved operating efficiency

 Boost in innovation

 High speed development

 Reduced time to market

 Cost competitiveness