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Deliver Aircraft Structures Faster with a Connected Digital Thread

Connect engineering, manufacturing, suppliers, and service teams to accelerate airframe development, industrialization, and lifecycle support.
Challenges Why PTC Benefits Solutions Customer Stories Resources

Aircraft manufacturers are under pressure to innovate and scale simultaneously

Aircraft OEMs and aerostructure suppliers are under pressure to increase production rates while developing lighter, more efficient aircraft and managing increasingly complex global supply chains. At the same time, manufacturers must coordinate engineering, certification, manufacturing, suppliers, and service operations more closely than ever before.

PTC helps airframe organizations connect product data and processes across the lifecycle so teams can accelerate development, improve production readiness, and support aircraft throughout decades of service.

Challenges facing airframe manufacturers

Modern aircraft programs require organizations to manage unprecedented levels of complexity while delivering on aggressive schedules and production commitments. Manufacturers need secure collaboration, synchronized product data, and controlled configuration management to prevent delays, reduce rework, and maintain production continuity across the supply chain.

Modern aircraft programs require organizations to manage unprecedented levels of complexity while delivering on aggressive schedules and production commitments. Manufacturers need secure collaboration, synchronized product data, and controlled configuration management to prevent delays, reduce rework, and maintain production continuity across the supply chain.

Increasing production rates

Aircraft order backlogs are at historic highs, but production rates remain constrained by supply chain disruptions, quality issues, and workforce shortages. Clearing the backlog requires faster coordination, not just faster fabrication.

Aircraft order backlogs are at historic highs, but production rates remain constrained by supply chain disruptions, quality issues, and workforce shortages. Clearing the backlog requires faster coordination, not just faster fabrication.

Accelerating certification

Manufacturers must demonstrate compliance through extensive analysis, testing, documentation, and traceability. Disconnected engineering data can increase certification efforts and prolong program timelines.

Manufacturers must demonstrate compliance through extensive analysis, testing, documentation, and traceability. Disconnected engineering data can increase certification efforts and prolong program timelines.

Managing aircraft structure complexity

Aircraft structures must balance performance, weight, manufacturability, sustainability, and cost requirements. Engineering teams need better visibility across disciplines to manage large assemblies, interfaces, and dependencies.

Aircraft structures must balance performance, weight, manufacturability, sustainability, and cost requirements. Engineering teams need better visibility across disciplines to manage large assemblies, interfaces, and dependencies.

Coordinating global supplier networks

Commercial aircraft programs depend on globally distributed supplier ecosystems. Manufacturers need secure collaboration, synchronized product data, and controlled change management to reduce delays, avoid rework, and maintain production continuity.

Commercial aircraft programs depend on globally distributed supplier ecosystems. Manufacturers need secure collaboration, synchronized product data, and controlled change management to reduce delays, avoid rework, and maintain production continuity.

Extending fleet lifecycles

Aircraft delivery delays are forcing operators to extend fleet service lifecycles while increasing utilization rates. Manufacturers need better lifecycle visibility to support maintenance, configuration management, and long-term fleet performance.

Aircraft delivery delays are forcing operators to extend fleet service lifecycles while increasing utilization rates. Manufacturers need better lifecycle visibility to support maintenance, configuration management, and long-term fleet performance.

Unify development processes for aerospace & defense innovation

Discover how aerospace industry leaders are breaking down silos between engineering disciplines to accelerate innovation, improve quality, and deliver aircraft faster.

Read the E-book

A connected digital foundation for airframe programs

Successful aircraft programs depend on seamless coordination across engineering, manufacturing, suppliers, certification, and service operations. PTC helps manufacturers establish a shared product data foundation that connects requirements, configurations, manufacturing plans, quality processes, and service information across the lifecycle.

With better visibility across programs and suppliers, organizations can reduce manual handoffs, accelerate production readiness, improve change management, and maintain configuration integrity from design through service.

From aircraft complexity to competitive advantage

Aerospace leaders are improving production readiness, accelerating certification activities, and reducing operational risk by connecting engineering, manufacturing, and lifecycle processes through a digital thread.

Aerospace leaders are improving production readiness, accelerating certification activities, and reducing operational risk by connecting engineering, manufacturing, and lifecycle processes through a digital thread.

Accelerate aircraft production ramp

Connect engineering and manufacturing so production teams work from current product definitions and engineering changes flow more efficiently into manufacturing planning, supplier coordination, and quality processes.

Connect engineering and manufacturing so production teams work from current product definitions and engineering changes flow more efficiently into manufacturing planning, supplier coordination, and quality processes. Learn More

Improve certification readiness

Maintain traceability across requirements, testing, verification, and compliance activities to improve certification readiness and reduce audit preparation effort.

Maintain traceability across requirements, testing, verification, and compliance activities to improve certification readiness and reduce audit preparation effort. Learn More

Manage aircraft structural complexity

Design, manage, and validate complex aircraft structures with connected CAD and PLM solutions. Enable engineering teams to develop large assemblies, advanced composites, and aircraft variants while maintaining configuration alignment across design and manufacturing.

Design, manage, and validate complex aircraft structures with connected CAD and PLM solutions. Enable engineering teams to develop large assemblies, advanced composites, and aircraft variants while maintaining configuration alignment across design and manufacturing. Learn More

Strengthen supplier collaboration

Enable secure, multi-tier supplier collaboration without forcing any supplier onto a single platform. When a design changes, every affected supplier, assembly, and purchase order are identified and updated automatically, ensuring no contractor builds to an obsolete revision.

Enable secure, multi-tier supplier collaboration without forcing any supplier onto a single platform. When a design changes, every affected supplier, assembly, and purchase order are identified and updated automatically, ensuring no contractor builds to an obsolete revision. Learn More

Improve aircraft lifecycle performance

Enable continuity between engineering and service operations to support maintenance, reliability, and fleet performance. Maintain configuration-controlled lifecycle data from design through manufacturing and into decades of in-service operations.

Enable continuity between engineering and service operations to support maintenance, reliability, and fleet performance. Maintain configuration-controlled lifecycle data from design through manufacturing and into decades of in-service operations. Learn More

Aerospace and defense on demand

Explore the latest industry insights, customer conversations, product innovations, and more.
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Building the digital foundation

"We are building a strong foundation, a digital foundation, to exchange data between the different business activities around the aircraft. We want people from design, from manufacturing, from support, from sales, after sales, working together, and that’s the way we have built, and are continuously building the digital foundation of Aura Aero."

Marc Germain, Chief Digital Officer, Aura Aero

Watch the Video

Solutions for airframe manufacturers

PTC solutions help aircraft manufacturers connect engineering, certification, manufacturing, supplier collaboration, and service operations through a shared product lifecycle foundation.

Product lifecycle management

<p>Windchill creates a digital backbone for aircraft product data, configurations, change management, supplier collaboration, and manufacturing continuity across complex commercial aerospace programs. </p>

CAD for large aircraft assemblies

<p>Creo enables engineering teams to design, manage, and validate large aircraft structures, advanced composites, and complex assemblies with greater speed and collaboration. </p>

Requirements management

<p>Codebeamer connects requirements, verification, risk management, and compliance workflows to improve certification readiness and engineering traceability. </p>

Product line engineering

<p>Pure Variants helps manufacturers manage aircraft families, customer configurations, software variants, and reusable engineering assets across programs. </p>

Manufacturing process planning

<p>Connect engineering data to manufacturing planning, tooling, work instructions, supplier execution, and production processes to support aircraft rate ramp and industrialization. </p>

Product lifecycle management Windchill creates a digital backbone for aircraft product data, configurations, change management, supplier collaboration, and manufacturing continuity across complex commercial aerospace programs. CAD for large aircraft assemblies Creo enables engineering teams to design, manage, and validate large aircraft structures, advanced composites, and complex assemblies with greater speed and collaboration. Requirements management Codebeamer connects requirements, verification, risk management, and compliance workflows to improve certification readiness and engineering traceability. Product line engineering Pure Variants helps manufacturers manage aircraft families, customer configurations, software variants, and reusable engineering assets across programs. Manufacturing process planning Connect engineering data to manufacturing planning, tooling, work instructions, supplier execution, and production processes to support aircraft rate ramp and industrialization.

How aerospace leaders work with PTC

Leading aerospace manufacturers use PTC solutions to improve collaboration, accelerate aircraft development, strengthen supplier coordination, and support production scale-up across next-generation aircraft programs.

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BETA
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Aura Aero

Aura Aero uses cloud-native CAD and modern collaboration tools to accelerate electric aircraft development and streamline distributed engineering workflows.

View Case Study

Hill Helicopters

Hill Helicopters uses integrated CAD and simulation workflows to improve collaboration and accelerate the development of complex aerospace assemblies.

View Case Study

BETA Technologies

BETA Technologies uses cloud-native product development tools to accelerate innovation and collaboration across advanced electric aircraft programs.

View Case Study

PAL-V

PAL-V uses digital engineering solutions to manage complexity and accelerate the development of flying vehicle platforms.

View Case Study

Come see us in person

Attend upcoming aerospace and defense events to hear how industry leaders are reducing development time, managing complexity, and scaling production with modern digital approaches.

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Go deeper on the digital engineering, lifecycle management, and certification strategies helping commercial aerospace manufacturers accelerate development and production.

Build aircraft programs with greater confidence

Connect with PTC experts to learn how leading aircraft manufacturers are improving certification readiness, accelerating production ramp, and connecting engineering through service operations.

Kevin Tomkins

Senior Vice President, Sales, Americas

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Alex Daly

National Security Lead

Alex Daly on LinkedIn

Jens Stephan

Regional Sales Director, Central Europe

Jens Stephan on LinkedIn
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