Case Studies and Videos
Mirror Image Aerospace
Skywalker Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) technology is aimed at providing affordable point-to-point commuter aircraft.
The Results
- Cut more than a year from the development cycle
- Reduced tooling costs by tens of thousands of dollars
- Utilized surfacing capabilities to design complex surfaces for fuselage, support legs, and wings
- Improved photorealistic rendering capabilities
"We chose SolidWorks CAD software for its ability to design complex surfaces for the fuselage, support legs, and wings. We also enjoyed the software's stability, the breadth of the Solution Partner Program, and the number of local companies and universities that use SolidWorks."
- Kent Crookston, CEO
VAR: GoEngineer
The Challenge
Mirror Image's primary focus is to develop an affordable point-to-point commuter aircraft that will allow people to bypass crowded surface traffic and fly to their destinations using Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) technology. Prior to utilizing SolidWorks CAD software, the company faced the enormous task of just defining the concept. We had a good, sound functional design for the duct housing, but the rest of the aircraft had very little definition. We used clay, wood, and fiberglass to sculpt small-scale concepts and design variations which took an enormous amount of time, materials, and effort.
The Solution
We chose SolidWorks CAD software for its ability to design complex surfaces for the fuselage, support legs, and wings. We also enjoyed the software's stability, the breadth of the Solution Partner Program, and the number of local companies and universities that use SolidWorks. The surfacing functionality provided the means to define new fuselage shapes quickly, while PhotoWorks rendering allowed us to view the finished product in photorealism to evaluate surfaces, showing color options and reflections which highlighted any inconsistencies. PhotoWorks also allowed us to present the Skywalker on our website to potential investors and end users.
- Industry: Aerospace & Defense
- Previous CAD: None
