Geometric Optimization of Aircraft Cabin Components: A Safran-metafold Case Study

In aviation, every gram of material removed from the aircraft cabin meaningfully reduces fuel requirements for operation, leading to cost reduction and greater sustainability. While significant advances have been made in the use of lightweight materials, such as composites, additional opportunities exist to optimize shape (geometry) to remove additional mass. This presentation highlights a collaboration between Safran Cabin and Metafold 3D to optimize geometry for an additively manufactured mechanical part in the aircraft cabin. We will provide an overview of state-of-the-art inverse design methods, including Design of Experiment considerations to test the impact of different designs on the part performance. The resulting optimized component not only achieves substantial weight reduction but also establishes a framework for future cabin part optimization.