Aerospace and defense

AeroTEC’s Teamcenter Journey: modernized data management and workflows

AeroTEC is an aerospace engineering company that develops, tests, and certifies aircraft and related systems. Discover how AeroTEC implemented Teamcenter to help its innovative customers bring their products to market efficiently and quickly.  

Overview

AeroTEC is an aerospace engineering company that develops, tests, and certifies aircraft and related systems. Its headquarters and main engineering offices are located just north of Boeing Field in Seattle. AeroTEC also has two additional campuses: the AeroTEC Flight Test Center in Moses Lake, Washington, and the Engineering Center in Wichita, Kansas. 

Company
  • AeroTEC
software
  • Teamcenter PLM
industry
  • Aerospace and Defense

For over 20 years, AeroTEC has helped companies design, test, and certify new aircraft and aerospace products worldwide, including hybrid/electric, hydrogen technology, supersonic, and eVTOLs. Leveraging software such as Teamcenter allows AeroTEC to streamline integration and help its innovative customers bring their products to market efficiently and quickly.  

01
The challenge

File-based management limited control, efficiency, and scalable product development.

02
The solution

Implemented Teamcenter with Applied CAx to modernize data management and workflows.

03
The impact

Improved data control, enabled digitalization, and supported efficient product development processes.

Challenge

AeroTEC’s PLM journey started years ago with a file and folder-based storage system for its CAD data. This manual system limited AeroTEC because it did not allow the company to control its “design data in a thoughtful manner,” AeroTEC’s Chief Development Officer (CDO) said.  

Bringing a PLM system into any company for the first time is a long road. It’s not something that you can take on lightly, and Applied has brought a lot of that experience to us.
Man smiling at the camera for a headshot Model airplane — Applied CAx Siemens software
Todd Leighton Director of Experimental Products AeroTEC

This limitation motivated AeroTEC’s CDO to find software that allows AeroTEC to streamline its workflow and boost efficiency.   

Solutions

Tailored PLM implementation

Bringing in Teamcenter as its PLM solution allowed AeroTEC to improve its data management. “In the initial stages, we used [Teamcenter] as a simple repository for data, not thinking through how we could leverage the complete tool,” AeroTEC CDO said. “Since then, we’ve started to understand that we can leverage Teamcenter in much more powerful ways.” AeroTEC began exploring various options within the Xcelerator portfolio and found that its immediate needs were focused on the change management process and modifying how the company handled ITAR-restricted data. These tools allowed AeroTEC to digitalize its product development process and simplify control of user access to different types of data. Additionally, AeroTEC uses Teamcenter Reporting and Analytics to “extract data out of the design cycle,” AeroTEC CDO said. This provides the company with deep insights into product data, which facilitates data-driven decisions and operational efficiency.   

Results

Gained operational efficiency with Applied CAx's partnership

From the change management process to Teamcenter integration, Applied CAx helped AeroTEC tailor the Siemens ecosystem to its business needs. 

“Working with the Applied team has been a real pleasure and not just from the business development side of things and explaining the value proposition, but on a technical level,” AeroTEC CDO said. “It’s very clear that Applied has great bench depth in terms of the people that they brought in.” 

Purple square - Applied CAx Siemens software
Improved data insights

Teamcenter Reporting and Analytics enabled extraction of design data insights to support informed decision making.

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Digital process transformation

Digitalized product development processes reduced manual effort and improved efficiency across engineering and operations teams.

Yellow square - Applied CAx Siemens software
Stronger PLM adoption

Expanded understanding of Teamcenter capabilities allowed AeroTEC to leverage the platform in more impactful ways.

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Foundation for growth

Established a scalable PLM foundation supporting AeroTEC's future vision of a fully connected digital thread.

It’s time to unleash your potential

Reach out to the team at Applied CAx to learn how our solutions can make your company’s goals achievable.