2185. The 767 Freighter Rigid Cargo Barrier, a Design Study

Paper

Abstract

Weight Engineering can be one of the most exciting careers available to an engineer. Unfortunately all too often Weight Engineering becomes an accounting exercise. Who has what weight, how does it compare to the target, who can afford to spend weight and where. This is exactly the wrong mentality. This type of process does nothing to optimize the airplane for the customer, it simply turns bright young or experienced engineers into accountants. Weight control at its best is the proactive definition/review of loads, design techniques and material usage for the ENTIRE airplane, NOT just the individual pieces. The current technology, Computer Aided Design, Finite Element Analysis, and New Manufacturing processes make it very easy for designers and analysts to optimize a single component or part. There is, however, no similar breakthrough that simplifies the task of integrating the requirements of the individual sections and components into sensible and cohesive design philosophy. This is where Weight Engineering can have some of ots most dramatic impact on the design. On the 767 Freighter cross funtional teams were used to insure designs that satisfied the requirements of the customer and the manufacturer. Weight Engineering was a key component of this effort. We utilized very fundamental and basic weight control techniques by emphasizing knowledge of the total airplane and questioning what drove our requirements. I would like to highlight the effectiveness of these techniques on the design of the 767-300 Rigid Barrier.