The challenge was to translate legacy, hand-drawn engineering data from the 1970s – 1980s  into a modern, production-ready digital format while preserving certification integrity and enabling rapid prototype delivery. The 2D drawings were highly complex, difficult to interpret, and featured multiple design revisions across separate drawing sheets that contradicted the base design on the front pages. Additionally, critical engineering change authorisations were missing from the drawings.

McDermott Aviation required a full-scale fuselage prototype for display at the Verticon helicopter exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia, in March 2026 – only three months after the project kick-off. The countdown was on: 90 days flat!

Conventional approaches (designing, validating, manufacturing, then adjusting) would not have enabled design, component manufacture and final assembly to be completed in time.

The risk of discovering a fit or tolerance defect during final assembly would have immediately shattered the budget and the schedule.

To compress time, SEGULA deployed a team of CAD designers and a concurrent digital engineering strategy built on Siemens NX and Teamcenter, that achieved speed by advancing engineering validation earlier in the lifecycle :

• Digital twin creation: Converted the analog paper scans into fully parametric 3D CAD models to establish a single, authoritative digital product definition.
• Design optimisation and simplification: Redesigned multiple components to simplify the prototyping process and facilitate local manufacturing within the strict deadline. This included substituting chemical milling with multiple bonded aluminium sheet layers, converting custom profiles to standard sections, redesigning curved parts as welded assemblies of flat plates, and replacing aluminium honeycomb with foam cores.
• Concurrent engineering and real-time validation: Parallel development of design, assembly, and manufacturing planning allowed the team to resolve interface, tolerance, and manufacturability challenges in real time before the physical build.
  
• Integrated collaboration: Close ongoing coordination between SEGULA engineers, McDermott teams, and suppliers.

• 3 months total project duration from kick-off to delivery.
• 6 weeks to complete the initial CAD design.
• Under 1 week required for final assembly.
• 14 major subassemblies configured to enable air transport and rapid assembly.
• 138 components successfully manufactured using CNC and composite processes.
• 1 full-scale fuselage (5m x 2.5m x 3m, weighing 160 kg) successfully delivered

• Accelerated time-to-market: Successfully advanced engineering validation earlier in the lifecycle, taking the client from legacy paper drawings to a full physical prototype in record time.
• Reduced risk: Digital validation identified integration risks early, eliminating costly late-stage engineering changes, reducing rework, and ensuring build precision.
• Production readiness: The creation of the digital twin provides a robust, repeatable model that supports immediate tooling, manufacturing, and future maintenance.
• High market impact: The successful showcase of the prototype at Verticon 2026 generated strong global customer interest, validating the commercial viability of re-industrialising this legacy platform.
• Sustainable Design Approach : Reusing and modernising existing airframe reduces material and energy use compared to new aircraft development.

This project (SEGULA Australia’s first-ever aerospace project) demonstrates how digital engineering can re-industrialise legacy platforms while strengthening sovereign manufacturing capability.

It establishes a repeatable model for aerospace, defence, and mobility sectors facing ageing designs and limited documentation.