Main description (English)

The development of science and manufacturing technology tied to the introduction of innovation is the continuous drive to develop the world's armies, a process that involves daily projecting, research and experimentation, fortunately modern technology allows many of the processes to be designed and simulated virtually before any item is physically created. Digital prototyping with CAD systems of a specific item of personal ballistic protection equipment allows the creation and study of the entire product before it is ever manufactured. With CAD systems, digital prototyping could easily be implemented by integrating 2D drawings and 3D data into a single digital model. This model is a virtual representation of the final product and helps engineers to design better and more efficiently. This significantly reduces development costs and time to realize new products. In physical research, it is necessary to use n number of functional models of the existing or future product due to the need to collect sufficient data to draw valid conclusions. There is also the 'black box' effect, which is characterised by the fact that there are a large number of variables in the experiments that can influence the results and make it very difficult to understand the final outcome (need for technical means, technological systems to change geometry and mass characteristics, place to conduct the study, etc.). On the other hand, virtual analyses implemented by CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) products provide almost unlimited possibilities to study an object and simulate it in the desired environment. These possibilities to consider a large number of indicators determine the "white box" effect that occurs precisely in virtual studies. Another plus in these analyses is the elimination of the need for physical prototypes of the object under study, as well as the possibility of immediate optimization in the models when analysing previous results. For the construction of this type of studies, good computational power and experience in the field are required in the creation of the mathematical model and the correct interpretation of the results obtained. One of the areas where there are numerous studies and the possibility of creating models for virtual studies is the production of personal ballistic protection components (ballistic panels and inserts for body armor, ballistic shields, combat helmets, etc.). In this regard, modern CAD/CAM/CAE systems could be successfully used for three-dimensional modeling of the individual elements of the individual ballistic protection means, from which the graphical part of the design documentation is prepared - the drawings, engineering calculations and analyses, rapid prototype preparation, technological preparation of production, preparation of control programs for machines with digital program control for the manufacture of different complexity of products entering the set, as well as for the overall management of the design Keywords: CAD/CAM/CAE systems, personal ballistic protection, equipment.