Besides the fact that it flies, an airship - better known as a blimp - has about as much in common with other aircraft as a whale has with fellow sea creatures.
Among a blimp's unique design elements are custom fan blades used to cool its engine. The fan blades were especially problematic for American Blimp, maker of the world's most popular airship, after initial suppliers went out of business.
The solution came from Advanced Design Concepts (ADC), which used Geomagic software to create injection molds based on scans of the original fans. The new process improves quality, cuts manufacturing time and reduces cost nearly tenfold.
Explore the November December 2008 Issue
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