Promoting the Future Development of Civil Aircraft Informatization in China

The 10th Annual China Aviation Industry International Forum - Shanghai, Tianmu Lake was successfully held in Liyang city from October 28th to 29th. Leading companies, experts and scholars in the aviation industry, such as COMAC and Airbus, gathered together to conduct exchanges and discussions on hot issues in the development of the aviation industry, clarifying the direction for the development of the aviation industry.

Focusing on "Promoting The Future Development Of Civil Aircraft Informatization In China", centering on "Cooperation And Challenges – International Bilateral Airworthiness Certification", "Civil Aircraft Industry In The Post- Coronavirus Era: Challenge and Opportunity", “Research On The Method Of Ensuring Interchangeability In Civil Aircraft Manufacturing”, “Comprehensive Application Of 3D Technology In Civil Aircraft Design”. The forum invited more than 70 well-know enterprises in the industry including government bureaus, OEMs, airborne avionics and electrical systems, 5G technology solution providers, flight tests, testing, inspection and certification, tooling equipment, parts processing, and aviation materials, with a total of more than 170 representatives.

Post-pandemic Era, Ccooperation to Promote Industry Development

Etienne RAVAUD,General Manager of Airbus (Beijing) Engineering Technology Center Co., Ltd. said that it will take 3-5 years for the world's flight attendant aviation industry to recover to the level before the pandemic. To get out of the crisis in the post-pandemic era, one of the opportunities lies in optimizing air flow through advanced technologies to meet travel safety requirements; the second lies in the development of new energy and new technologies, quickly promoting the process of carbon neutrality aircraft, to achieve clean and sustainable development in aviation industry.

“The China-EU Bilateral Airworthiness Certification and its implementation procedures enable the civil aviation administrations of China and Europe to freely carry out technical cooperation, and help reduce duplication of work and reduce the burden of supervision on both sides.” saidJavier VICEDO，Chief Representative China & North Asia of European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). He explained that: through the continuous improvement of the certification framework, the sharing of information in standardization and quality management enables the parties to the agreement to get closer to each other, which is ultimately beneficial to the development of the entire industry.

Digitization and Informationization of Aviation Manufacturing

The development level of the aero engine industry is a concentrated expression of a country’s industrial foundatio, technological level and comprehensive national strength, and is also an important strategic guarantee for national security and the status of a major country. HUANG Bo, Director, Department of Engineering System, Development & Numerical Technologies R&D Center of AECC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co., Ltd., mentioned that,“it is necessary to use digital technology and simulation technology to accelerate engine research and development,using domestic and foreign common resources to promote analog transformation, and use private enterprises’ ability to cultivate a reliable industrial chain for the aviation industry".

As one of the "new infrastructure", the Industrial Internet is regarded as the "second half of the internet" by the industry. Driven by 5G technology and policies, the Industrial Internet will become one of the most active areas in my country's economic growth. WANG Yang, Solution Director of 5G Innovation, China Region Carrier Business, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., said, “5G, as a data plateau and digitalization itself, has a natural integration advantage with aviation, which is characterized by data. The application of 5G technology in aviation manufacturing will help to achieve from physical product-based manufacturing to data model-centered and software-defined manufacturing."

Throughout the development history of network technology, China's 5G technology development is at the forefront of the world. SHEN Zhou, Technical Director, Intelligent Manufacturing Research Institute of China Unicom Shanghai Branch, shared an example of cooperation with COMAC: Relying on the features of 5G technology with low latency and large connections, China Unicom and COMAC are in remote assistance, wiring, and aircraft surface quality inspection and aircraft assembly have reached cooperation, helping the civil aircraft industry to produce more reliably and securely. The integration of 5G technology and manufacturing will promote the realization of "intelligent manufacturing" and complete the optimization and upgrade from a large manufacturing country to a strong manufacturing country.

Domestic Civil Aircraft Development Experience

"In the process of aircraft manufacturing, the core technology is how to ensure the assembly and interchange coordination of aircraft from parts to complete aircraft." WANG Jianhua, Vice Chief Engineer, ARJ21 Chief Technologist, COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd., said frankly: "China aircraft manufacturing at this point, it has to become digital." The digital entity coordination route is currently the manufacturing technology with the smallest error and the highest degree of coordination. The advantages in ensuring manufacturing accuracy and assembly coordination accuracy make it an important technical route to solve interchange.

ZHANG Shang’an, Technical Expert (ⅡLevel), Chief Technologist of MA60 Researcher Fellow, AVIC XAC Commercial Aircraft Co., Ltd., shared the practical process of 3D design in the development of MA700 aircraft,. He introduced a comprehensive manufacturing-oriented digital design management system, which could help to open up the road to the integration of design process and manufacturing and effectively connect design data and manufacturing data and ensure effective information sharing and communication in the digital manufacturing process. This would ultimately bring new changes in business models to enterprises and form new core competitiveness. Finally realize the improvement of productivity driven by technology.

As a national strategic industry, the aviation industry is not only an important foundation for a country’s national defense and security, it also marks the advanced level of a country’s industrial development, and it is a key manifestation of comprehensive national strength. The CAIS Forum aims to build a high-end platform for aviation industry technology exchanges and business cooperation, and promote China’s manufacturing industry to accelerate the mid-to-high-end development, improve the adaptability of the manufacturing supply system and market demand, and build a flexible and stable industry contribute to the supply chain!