Lockheed Martin leads the way in streamlining the design and
engineering of new systems-based possibilities and opportunities.
Lockheed Martin Corporation is headquartered in Bethesda, MD., and
is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture
and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services.
The corporation's core businesses are systems integration, space,
aeronautics and technology services. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, a unit of Lockheed
Martin Corporation is a world leader in the design, development, systems integration,
production and support of military aircraft. Headquartered in Fort Worth, TX., its
customers include the military services of the United States and allied countries throughout
the world.
With plans underway to initially produce 22 aircraft for the U.S.
armed forces Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company required a way to improve efficiency by
streamlining the design and engineering of its Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program. The JSF
project is the largest military fighter project ever awarded, valued at $200 billion over its
lifespan.
Lockheed Martin wanted to integrate from Teamcenter Enterprise
(formally knows as Metaphase) *1, a product data management (PDM) system with CATIA *2, a
computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing three-dimensional graphics program.
Without an interface, data from Teamcenter Enterprise had to be
manually transitioned through a complex and involved process into a CATIA program in order for
it to be represented visually.
*1 - Trademark of UGS PLM Solutions, *2 - Trademark of Dassault
Systèmes
The key task was to implement the CATIA Metaphase Interface (CMI)
to streamline all internal processes by allowing information from design and engineering to
be passed back and forth. While taking into account all requirements Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Company needed to produce their Joint Strike Fighters.
Starting with the off-the-shelf CMI product T-Systems had originally
designed, Lockheed Martin contracted T-Systems to develop additional custom functionality needed
for the JSF Program. The unique interface would allow CATIA (IBM 3D CAD/CAM program) and Teamcenter
Enterprise (UGS PLM Solutions product data management system) to communicate with one another. The
customized CATIA Metaphase Interface (CMI) tied Teamcenter Enterprise to native CATIA without any
additional software between the two applications. T-Systems also created interfaces from CMI to
other engineering products utilized by Lockheed Martin. Additionally, T-Systems is providing
installation, implementation, training, support and maintenance services to Lockheed Martin.
The new solution has helped Lockheed Martin to improve the efficiency and
quality of their engineering process. The new interface allows data from Teamcenter Enterprise to
be transitioned through an involved process seamlessly into a CATIA program. This allows for data
to be visually represented without the hassle of manually integrating the alphanumeric data. The
CMI solution succeeds in lowering the TCO because no additional products or maintenance is needed
internally.
"After a rigorous evaluation process, we selected T-Systems' CATIA
Metaphase Interface software product as the initial tool for interfacing CATIA with our Metaphase
Product Data Management System for our Joint Strike Fighter Program," said Mark Peden, Lockheed
Martin's Vice President of Information Systems and Technology. "CMI offers us an initial lower risk
and more supportable, simpler architecture for the Joint Strike Fighter program as it brings new team
members and suppliers on board."
- Streamlined Internal processes.
- Reduced time and labor.
- Increased performance.
- Faster data transition.
- Higher degree of accuracy.
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