Case Study: Joby Aviation accelerates internal loads modeling with Hexagon MSC Apex

MSC Apex’s advanced design trade-off FEA capabilities enable Joby Aviation to accelerate internal loads modeling to one-third of original time required

Joby Aviation, an aerospace company developing an all-electric air taxi, faced the immense challenge of certifying its new aircraft design within an aggressive timeline. The traditional process for generating internal loads models was too slow and sequential, hindering their goal of parallel design and analysis. To accelerate this, they turned to Hexagon and its MSC Apex software to find a more efficient engineering platform.

Hexagon's solution, MSC Apex, enabled rapid design iterations by allowing engineers to update existing finite element models with design changes instead of rebuilding them from scratch. This capability drastically reduced the time required for internal loads modeling. The results were significant; a benchmark test showed a five-day workflow was condensed into a single day, with one specific design change scenario being completed in 15 minutes instead of 45. This provided Joby Aviation with the speed and flexibility needed to meet its ambitious certification schedule.

Joby Aviation

Brian Smith

Structural Analysis & Internal Loads Team