An aerospace design team needed testing capacity as part of a time-sensitive programme milestone. Zambeel designed and delivered a towable, self-contained test bed that could travel between available test locations and support the development work leading to that milestone.
Zambeel led the design, engineering, fabrication coordination and integration of a complete physical test bed against a time-sensitive milestone.
How engagements workThe constraint
The client was developing an efficient propeller propulsion system. Its workshops and engineering resources were committed to production and regular operations, so development of the required test bed would repeatedly move behind higher-priority internal demand.
The client had five months to demonstrate a working prototype to corporate management and investors. A large part of the testing and development required for that milestone could begin only after the completed test bed had been handed over, so Zambeel’s delivery window was substantially shorter.
Suitable sheds and outdoor areas were spread across locations that required road travel between them and became available at different times. A fixed installation would have created another scheduling dependency, so the test bed needed to be genuinely mobile.
Delivery strategy
Zambeel provided an expedited engagement and organised requirements, design and fabrication around shared interfaces. Chassis, cabin and systems work advanced concurrently while design decisions were still being resolved.
Zambeel worked directly with the client to define test use, mobility, workspace, safety and operating constraints before they could become late-stage fabrication changes.
Structural, cabin and systems teams worked from coordinated physical, electrical and mounting interfaces rather than waiting for one discipline to finish completely.
The completed test bed was handed over in 75 days, preserving time inside the client’s five-month demonstration window.
Test-bed configuration
A towable enclosed cabin allowed the client to relocate between available test areas while keeping the propulsion interface, control and data-acquisition systems, power and engineering workspace together.
The rear-mounted engine was integrated with commercial engine-control avionics, performance sensors and a dedicated data-acquisition system, providing one system for engine operation and performance-data collection.
Air conditioning and internal workstations gave the design team a controlled place to monitor tests and work alongside the equipment.
Onboard battery backup and solar generation reduced dependence on the local utilities available at each temporary test location.
Emergency shutdown, fire-safety measures and protected equipment arrangements were incorporated into the test-bed design.
Engineering work
The test bed combined an aerospace propulsion interface, instrumentation and an occupied workspace within a road-transportable structure. Zambeel developed the enclosure and systems around the operating loads, road vibration, weight distribution and working conditions created by that combination.
Commercial aerospace instrumentation captured temperature at multiple points, prop-shaft torque and noise. Zambeel’s role covered integration of the sensors, engine-control avionics and data-acquisition equipment rather than development of the propulsion control system itself.
Structural analysis, vibration assessment and weight estimates informed the single-axle chassis, cabin, rear engine structure and equipment distribution for both engine operation and road transport between test locations.
Instrumentation and avionics wiring were coordinated first, then integrated with cabin services, battery and solar backup, safety equipment and the overall power architecture.
Integration and handoff
The chassis, cabin and systems fabrication teams completed separate workstreams that came together without corrective integration work. Once the complete test bed had been integrated and verified, it was handed over with the drawings and documentation required for operation, maintenance and future reproduction.
Mounting geometry, access, service routes and equipment positions were coordinated across the structural and cabin designs before the final build converged.
The test bed was handed over ready for use, with safety provisions, instrumentation, working space and independent utilities in place.
The design package later enabled the client’s test rig fabrication team to reproduce the test bed for use elsewhere in the factory.
What changed
The aerospace team completed the demonstration milestone it had set for management and investors.
The test bed has remained in use for several years, supporting further engine and propeller development beyond the original propulsion programme, including work by other teams inside the company.
The client’s test rig fabrication team later reproduced the test bed for use elsewhere in the factory, extending the value of the design beyond the expedited first build.
Capabilities involved
The project required Zambeel to maintain design control and integration while several engineering and fabrication streams advanced concurrently within a compressed delivery window.
Requirements, test use, mobility, safety, workspace and interface definition organised around the client’s milestone.
ExploreChassis, cabin, propulsion mounting, structural analysis, vibration assessment and weight distribution.
ExploreInstrumentation and data acquisition, avionics and sensor wiring, power architecture, backup systems, HVAC and emergency provisions.
ExploreParallel fabrication coordination, final integration, functional delivery and reproducible design documentation.
ExploreRelated work
We can help define and deliver the physical systems your internal team needs to keep a development programme moving.