Testing/Simulation

Avoiding high-priced hiccups With business booming across all product lines and staff and facilities at full capacity, Cessna borrowed a chapter from the makers of large commercial airliners and decided to integrate and assemble co-developed subsystems and supplied parts to create the Columbus. Read full story

Synthetic instrumentation advances with RF down converter Military suppliers are moving toward synthetic instruments that replace existing test and measurement equipment with flexible modular architectures. BAE Systems and Phase Matrix have completed a down converter to handle RF capabilities in a small form factor. Read full story

Siemens PLM introduces synchronous technology for easier CAD design Siemens is introducing a fundamentally new way to create mechanical designs with 3-D solids modeling technology. Synchronous technology combines the best of constraint-driven techniques with direct modeling, according to Siemens. Read full story

Spin rig testing nets results The 18-lb steel blade of an F-class industrial gas turbine survived a series of resonant spin tests, and that bodes well for the component's manufacturer, a global energy services company looking to improve engine durability by redesigning the blade. Read full story