Flyer Defense is a design company at its core, and when it set out to design the most versatile all-terrain wheeled platform in the world, speed and adaptability were critical. Using Siemens NX allows its engineering team to streamline the design process and ensure every component can withstand harsh environments.
“Designing a vehicle that is highly modular and configurable allows us to stay up to speed with the changing requirements of our customers and technologies,” Robert Rice, director of business development at Flyer Defense, said.
Designing the entire product line in NX
For Flyer Defense, Siemens NX is the backbone for its platform design. “The Flyer product line of vehicles is wholly designed in Siemens Xcelerator NX,” Nic Frey, director of engineering at Flyer Defense, said. With NX, the team can design across product lines and configurations while maintaining consistency.
This modular, centralized approach allows Flyer Defense to scale design work without fragmenting processes or losing efficiency. The ability to handle multiple product variants within one environment ensures that engineering teams remain agile while maintaining control over design data.
Harnessing the power of advanced CAD
NX is widely recognized for its breadth, and Flyer Defense has experienced that firsthand. “NX is an extremely powerful CAD tool, but it can be somewhat daunting,” Frey said, “Having a partner like Applied CAx has helped us grasp the full capabilities of NX.”
With a set of templates and tools that have been honed for years, Applied CAx created a roadmap for Flyer Defense to efficiently implement NX. This allowed Flyer Defense to “leverage capabilities and features that you usually only see amongst large organizations,” Frey said.
Designed to develop submarines and airplanes, NX delivers capabilities that extend far beyond the typical requirements of vehicle design. By applying these advanced tools to its own platforms, Flyer Defense gains an edge in innovation. “When we leverage [NX] on a vehicle platform like ours, it gives us an unmatched capability to iterate, develop, and manage a product,” Frey said.
The ability to rapidly refine design and push development ensures Flyer Defense can continue to meet demanding performance and durability standards.
Connecting design to production
NX helps Flyer Defense bridge the gap between design and manufacturing. “Pairing an engineer with a master fabricator creates a hands-on environment for both,” Frey said. “It allows the engineer to understand the product from the design concept to it rolling out the door as a prototype.”
This connection between design and production ensures that engineering intent translates into manufacturable, reliable vehicles. NX enables teams to validate and refine concepts in real time, creating a seamless link between innovation on the screen and performance in the field.
Learn more about Flyer Defense here.