DLR, Germany’s research and technology centre for aeronautics and space, operates complex laboratories, wind tunnels, and high-pressure combustion chamber test beds at its Cologne site. These facilities require meticulous planning, monitoring, and maintenance, generating massive amounts of reality capture data, including 3D laser scans, photographs, and CAD models.

DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology needed a reliable system to centralize, organize, and preserve this data while making it accessible for engineers, researchers, and facility managers, particularly for propulsion technology research and gas turbine experiments.

WHAT WAS NEEDED

Managing decades of facility data across multiple locations and departments was a major challenge. Data existed in diverse formats—from laser scans to BIM models—and included both recent and historical documentation. The team required a centralized platform to:

 

  • Unify and structure decades of data.
  • Facilitate cross-department collaboration.
  • Enable efficient planning, inspections, and maintenance workflows.
  • Preserve institutional knowledge for long-term facility management.

DEPLOYMENT

DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology deployed Viinplan as a secure, on-premises platform to centralize reality capture data from laboratories, test beds, and hangars. The project was executed in several steps:

  1. 3D Documentation: Individual laser scans of the facility were captured and documented in Viinplan.
  2. 3D CAD Development: New CAD models for combustion chambers and plant components were developed and linked to existing facility data.
  3. Visualization and Assessment: Scans and models were visualized in Viinplan to evaluate new designs, validate experiments, and identify potential conflicts.
  4. Quality Assurance & Integration: Navisworks data combined as-built conditions with new designs, ensuring accuracy in the development of the new optimized environment.
  5. Collaboration via Cloud: Teams coordinated through Viinplan Cloud, enabling seamless communication across departments.

Viinplan’s platform allowed the DLR team to document results in a centralized, searchable digital environment.

VALUE DELIVERED

  • Stepwise Digital Workflow: 3D documentation, CAD development, visualization, and QA completed efficiently with Viinplan
  • Centralized Archive: Decades of facility and combustor data unified in a structured platform
  • Enhanced Collaboration: Teams communicated seamlessly via Viinplan Cloud
  • Improved Efficiency: Researchers could navigate, visualize, and assess experimental and facility data in real time
  • Better Planning & Safety: Accurate 3D context supported inspections, combustor experiments, and facility planning with reduced risk
  • Digital Continuity: Viinplan preserves knowledge and evolution of DLR’s propulsion technology facilities for the long term

LASTING IMPACT

With Viinplan, DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology transformes complex, multi-step projects into structured digital workflows. The platform allowes teams to document high-pressure combustion chamber experiments, integrate CAD models, visualize designs, and perform quality assurance — all while maintaining a comprehensive digital memory of the facilities.

By streamlining data management, Viinplan provides a safe, centralized environment where engineering teams make reliable decisions and collaborate effectively