ChampionXperience’s rocket design journey began with a spark of inspiration from at the Teknofest event; it guided us into an exciting design adventure. The initial design I created using xApps applications on my tablet led to a project idea that allowed us to directly experience the importance of collaborative work. This blog shares our journey, from the concept phase to solving technical issues, managing revisions and successfully completing our rocket and tower project.
Champion Xperience’s project workflow. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Project Idea
Every project begins with an idea. At the Teknofest event in 2023, the most impressive product I encountered was a rocket. It inspired me to create my own design using the tablet I had with me at the time. I decided to design something similar, so before starting I examined the rocket in more detail. It consisted of four distinct sections, with conical contact surfaces between them. To ensure a more flexible and efficient design process, I began designing my rocket’s body using xShape. The ability to quickly shape the nose section made the design process both enjoyable and efficient.
Rocket and Tower Project | Chapter 1: Project Idea. (Video: ChampionXperience.)
My rocket cap design with xShape (Image: ChampionXperience.)
After completing the design, I was excited by the idea of launching this rocket through a computer simulation. I decided to share this idea with my teammate, Hanen. For this collaboration, we used the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, where we have a shared Dashboard and a community. I shared my idea with Hanen through the Conversation section in this community. One of the platform’s advantages is the ability to share a designed model in a 3D format. This enabled Hanen to examine it in detail.
My 3DSwym conversations with Hanen. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
After reviewing my design, Hanen appreciated my idea and pointed out that we would need a tower design to carry out the simulation. She then took the initiative to propose creating a project plan to streamline the process. From that point on, we began working on the project plan necessary to launch the rocket into space.
Project Planning
Hanen accessed the Project Planning section through our shared Dashboard and created a new project. She selected the Create button, gave the project a name, set the start date and launched it. Please note that since the project was carried out in 2023, recent software updates may cause supporting screenshots to differ to what may currently be expected.
Rocket and Tower Project | Chapter 2: Project Planning. (Video: ChampionXperience.)
To ensure I could view the project plan and assign tasks, she added me to the project as a Leader through the Members menu. The Leader role gave me the authority to create, edit and assign tasks to either myself or Hanen within the project.
ENOVIA project planning: adding a member. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Hanen assigned multiple tasks to both me and herself. After completing the tower design in 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS, she moved on to the next task: the assembly phase.
Before continuing with the project, let’s take a brief look at how the ENOVIA Project Planning application works. The Project Planning application provides an organizational system for tracking task statuses. Tasks are categorized into three main statuses:
- To Do: The initial status when the task is created.
- In Work: This status indicates that work on the task has started.
- Completed: The task is moved to this status once it is finished.
Every status change sends a notification to team members. There are two ways to update the task’s status:
- Dragging the task and dropping it into a new status.
- Adjusting the percentage slider within the task. For example:
- 10%: Moves the task to the In Work status.
- 100%: Moves the task to the Completed status.
ENOVIA Project Planning: task status. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Hanen added the design files to the assembly task through the Attachments section.
“The Attachments section typically includes 3D models, documents or reference data required at the start of the project. Meanwhile, the Deliverables section contains the data generated upon project completion.”
Assembly of the rocket task: attachments and deliverables. (Image: ChampionXperience)
Hanen moved the assembly to In Work, returned to the SOLIDWORKS interface, and used drag-and-drop features to add the rocket to the assembly containing the launch tower. She identified a wing collision with the launch tower and decided to report it via 3DEXPERIENCE platform tools.
Wing collision with the launch tower. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Issue Identification
Rocket and Tower Project | Chapter 3: Issue Identification. (Video: ChampionXperience.)
1. Creating 3D Markup
Hanen decided to use the 3D Markup application to report this critical issue to me. Leveraging the flexibility provided by the platform, Hanen easily transferred the assembly from the SOLIDWORKS interface to the web-based 3D Markup application using drag-and-drop features.
The 3D Markup application allows you to view models in 3D and add annotations and notes from various perspectives. Additionally, it integrates with the Issue Management application, enabling you to assign tasks to team members by clearly explaining issues that need to be developed or resolved.
To report the issue with the wings and propose a solution, Hanen created a Markup titled “Error in the Wings.” She added an arrow pointing to the problematic wing and included a note detailing the proposed solution.
3D Markup of the wing error. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
2. Generate Issue
Using the Generate Issue command in the Action Bar, Hanen assigned the task to me. She set the task’s priority in the pop-up window and saved the Issue. Upon completing this step, the platform sent me a notification to act on the task.
While reviewing our next project on my tablet, I received the notification and immediately took action.
From Issue to Revision
Rocket and Tower Project | Chapter 4: From Issue to Revision. (Video: ChampionXperience.)
1. Issue Management
To view the notification I received from Hanen, I navigated to the Issue Management section on our shared dashboard. To see the latest issues, I refreshed the page and found the task titled “Error in the Wings.”
Issue Management is a tool designed to manage and quickly resolve issues. It simplifies the creation, tracking, prioritization and assignment of tasks to relevant individuals. Additionally, it allows for the collaborative management of the issue’s maturity status through approval workflows.
I opened the task and dragged the Markup from the Attachments section into the 3D Markup application to view it. I saw the arrow pointing to the problematic wing and the proposed solution. To inform Hanen that I had started working on it, I changed the task status from To Do to In Work in the Issue application.
ENOVIA Issue Management: To Do to In Work. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
2. Creating a Revision
I navigated to the Design section from the dashboard and opened my rocket in xShape. Instead of making a direct change to the design, I decided to create a revision to document the reason for the change and maintain the workflow. I accessed the Lifecycle menu in the Action Bar and selected the New Revision command to create a new revision.
xShape Lifecycle menu: New Revision. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Revisions contain important information and changes about the model’s history. When you create a revision using the platform’s applications, a value is automatically assigned to it based on the platform settings. For example, when you create the first revision, it will be assigned the name A2, while your master model will retain the value A1.
When a new revision is created, a pop-up window appears, allowing you to open the newly created revision. Using the Open Revision option in the pop-up window, I opened it. In the feature tree, I activated the Composite Wings Geometrical Set. I needed to make a 45-degree adjustment to the wing angle. There were two methods to achieve this:
- Editing the Sketch Plane: I could replace the sketch plane of the wing profile with a new plane tilted at 45 degrees using the Edit Sketch Plane command. However, this would affect many underlying features and lead to several errors.
- Rotating the Wing Body: The second method involved using the Move Body command to rotate the wing body by 45 degrees. This method was simpler and had a lower risk of errors. Therefore, I opted for this approach.
To apply this method, I rolled back to the step before the Circular Pattern in the Design Manager, used the Move Body command to rotate the wing body 45° along the Z-axis, and restored the Roll Bar. This updated the wing and inter-wing angles without manual changes to the Circular Pattern.
Since the changes I made were saved in the A2 revision, we can easily revert to the master model, A1, via the Revisions menu. This is helpful in case we encounter any issues during the project’s progress.
xShape Lifecycle Revisions. (Active Revision A2). (Image: ChampionXperience.)
I saved the changes and returned to the Issue Management section to inform Hanen. Through the Comment section, I provided feedback to Hanen and updated the task status to In Approval to submit it for her review.
ENOVIA Issue Management: In Work to In Approval. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
The In Approval feature allows tasks to progress based on reciprocal review. After being reviewed by the assigner, the task can be moved to the Completed status by the same person. This ensures that the task is carried out in a controlled manner.
Task Completion
Rocket and Tower Project | Chapter 5 Task Completion. (Video: ChampionXperience.)
1. Revision Change
While on the dashboard screen, Hanen receives a notification. After reviewing the comment, she returns to the SOLIDWORKS interface to verify the revision’s accuracy. After selecting the rocket, she uses the Reload from Server command in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform window to reload the most recent data from 3D Space into the SOLIDWORKS environment.
3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS: Reload from Server. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Upon completing this process, a red cross icon appears on the Rocket model. This icon notifies the user that the latest revision of the model is not currently selected.
3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS: latest Revision is not loaded. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Hanen right-clicks on the model to change the revision, selects the Replace by Revision option, and chooses the A2 revision from the pop-up window before confirming the command. After the revision is updated, she reviews the Rocket and Tower Assembly from the top view to verify that the issue has been resolved.
3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS: Rocket A2 Revision. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
Returning to the dashboard screen, Hanen provides feedback to me regarding the update and moves the task from In Approval to Completed, successfully finalizing the task.
ENOVIA Issue Management: In Approval to Completed. (Image: ChampionXperience.)
2. New Task
After receiving the notification from Hanen, I wanted this task to be included in the project plan. This would allow us to review all the changes made when revisiting the project plan after its completion. This is useful if any further development or adjustments are made. To achieve this, I navigated to the Project Planning screen and created a task named Rocket Wing Angle New Revision.
After adding the necessary explanations to the task, I uploaded my Rocket design to the Deliverables section and Hanen’s assigned Issue task to the Attachments section, completing the task.
Rocket Wing New Revision Task: Attachments and Deliverables. (Image: ChampionXperience)
3. Final Task
In the final step, Hanen moved the Assembly task from In Work to Completed, finalizing the assembly task for the project. With these tasks completed, the rocket is now ready for launch.
Final thoughts
The rocket design project was an inspiring journey that brought together the power of creativity, collaboration and problem-solving skills. The use of xApps, SOLIDWORKS, and the PLM tools available on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform allowed us to progress through each stage of the project efficiently and effectively. From the initial design to project planning, and from identifying critical issues to solving them, every step highlighted the importance of a workflow rooted in an idea exchange powered by team synergy.
Through this project, we had the opportunity to experience the advantages offered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform first-hand. Despite living in different countries, we were able to seamlessly track each phase of the project thanks to the platform’s powerful tools. Throughout the process, we gained a deeper understanding of the importance of optimizing project management and leveraging the collaborative capabilities provided by the platform.