It has been declared as one of the most innovative tools for the development of complex integrated systems. The Concurrent Design Facility, or CDF, was created by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the efficient development of complex multi-system space projects in the early design phases.
The new CDF room at ESA/ESTEC in Noordwijk, NL.
The CDF is a facility created and based at the European Space Technology Centre (ESTEC). The idea is to bring all system engineers together to iteratively develop and integrate their subsystems during the early design phase of a complex space mission. By beginning with baseline design parameters, the subsystem engineers begin to refine their system performance. Working together in one facility and sharing their data, the engineers can immediately see how changes to one subsystem affect the performance of the system as a whole. By making successive iterative changes to each system, the design as a whole eventually converges on the most efficient integrated design.
While originally developed for the design of complex space missions, the CDF has successfully demonstrated its capability in the design of complex non-space multi-system projects.
A simplified pictorial of the OCDS concept with a central EDMserver™.
The original CDF was developed as a concept utilizing off-the-shelf tools and software. The heart of the original CDF utilized Excel™ spreadsheets for the calculations, sharing and transfer of subsystem information. With the success of the CDF and its eventual expansion of capabilities, the Excel workbook solution began to show its limitations. As a result, in early 2007 ESA proposed to further enhance the CDF capabilities and replace the heart of the system with a more robust and expandable solution. The EXPRESS Data Manager™ Server (EDMserver™) developed by Jotne EPM Technology was the chosen solution.
The upgraded OCDS will allow interactive participation of remote users.
An invitation to tender was announced by ESA in early 2007 and a consortium of four international companies was awarded the contract to upgrade and enhance the capabilities of the CDF. This project was appropriately named the Open Concurrent Design Server (OCDS). Working together with DNV (Norway), Daysha (Ireland) and Critical Software (Portugal), Jotne EPM Technology is modifying its innovative EDMserver™ to operate as the nucleus of the future CDF. By using the STEP standard based EDMserver™ the system is easily expandable in the future. Similarly, with the introduction of web services, the CDF will soon be able to perform integrated design studies while including design centres simultaneously worldwide. Massimo Bandechi, the ESA CDF Manager says:
– Our vision is to perform the design phases of a satellite mission in a concurrent environment. We have demonstrated this capability with exceptional results in our Concurrent Design Facility, but we realize the need to bring the technology beyond the dedicated facilities here in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. The goal is to expand the capabilities and create a facility that brings together the competence of ESA, our partners and our suppliers. We have chosen the STEP standard as one of the key elements in our project and EXPRESS Data Manager™ as a suitable cost-effective associated technology.
The success of the OCDS project demonstrates the capabilities and flexibility of the EDMserver™ solution as well as the ability of Jotne EPM Technology to integrate within an international environment.
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