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“Of course, it’s all a matter of computers or, more
precisely, computer-aided design technology,” SAA
Technical airframe and pro-pulsion system engineering
division senior project analyst Johannes Pretorius
reports.
Cad was also the key to the livery designs of the
planes performing the flybys for the Cricket World Cup
and the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which were brought to
life on the screen before transferring them to the
aircraft.
SAA Technical has been using the system since 1987 for
a range of design uses – from an entire aircraft
livery design to items of small, insignificant-seeming
detail.
“I’d say that AllyCAD is probably our most important
and most commonly used design tool, which has the
simple draughting capability we need,” Pretorius says.
Apart from its innate capabilities, it operates
seamlessly with all other software. The system is
updated constantly by its South African developer and
distributor, software engineering house Knowledge
Base. “The design and development of aircraft – and,
indeed everything else – has advanced dramatically
since AllyCAD was first used by SAA Technical. |
“The computer software has made parallel advances, and
has succeeded in maintaining its value-added status as
a drawing program, which can be integrated into new
technology,” Knowledge Base MD Vincent Bester says.
The system is used in all big projects at SAA, for
example full aircraft exterior livery, to create a
scaled-down version of the required final design,
lettering and logo on the jet.
This is then used in the manufacture of the actual
full-sized template, known as pounce, which can be as
long as 17 m, with a height of two metres, to
facilitate the final painting of the livery.
The system is also used in its design role, including
technical drawings for a test-bench for aircraft
engine components, tooling, spares manu-facture,
equipment-testing, interior passenger seat-plan
layout, emergency equipment layout, decals, and even
storage brackets for the aircraft galley.
“Even the no smoking warning sign you see in the
toilets is the work of AllyCAD,” Pretorius says. |
