Case Study: Terrafugia achieves a road‑worthy, lightweight Transition faster with Dassault Systemes' SolidWorks and CATIA Composites Design

Creating the first road-worthy airplane with DS SolidWorks and CATIA Composites Design

Terrafugia, founded by engineers and flying enthusiasts to create the Transition roadable aircraft, faced the twin challenge of combining airplane and automobile functions while keeping the vehicle extremely lightweight and manufacturable. To meet this challenge the company turned to Dassault Systemes, using DS SolidWorks for 3D mechanical design, assemblies and routing, and CATIA Composites Design (with Simulayt’s Advanced Fiber Modeler) to address complex composite engineering and layup issues.

Dassault Systemes’ tools enabled Terrafugia to accelerate its proof-of-concept design, perform virtual draping and layer-by-layer analysis, and optimize composite layups to minimize material and weight while ensuring strength. The solution translated directly to production (exporting to cutting machines and ply books), cut development time and material waste, reduced the Transition’s weight significantly versus the prototype, and increased confidence in meeting regulatory and producibility targets.

Terrafugia

Carl Dietrich

CEO/CTO