Case Study: Alliant Engineering Llc achieves first load-bearing composite fuselage and faster time-to-market with SolidWorks

Stretching the Boundaries of Aircraft Development With Solidworks Software

Alliant Engineering Llc, a turnkey product development firm serving aerospace, automotive and medical clients, needed to reinvent powered-parachute structure by creating the Paracraft—the industry’s first load-bearing composite fuselage—which demanded robust, integrated CAD and FEA tools. The company adopted SolidWorks 3D CAD and SolidWorks Simulation (including Simulation Premium) to tackle the complex stress‑skin composite design and validation challenges.

Using SolidWorks, Alliant Engineering Llc optimized the Paracraft for weight and strength under continuous 10 G loads, validated the body, crumple zones, chute arms and loading struts, and completed the design in six months—shortening design cycles, minimizing prototype costs, and delivering a first-to-market innovation. SolidWorks Simulation also enabled Alliant to analyze 250 Airbus A380 landing‑gear brackets (including fatigue and crash loads up to 20 G), reducing physical testing and accelerating time to market.

Alliant Engineering Llc

Jim Medsker

Co-Owner and President