Abstract
The virtual technologies provide the backbone of the development tools in the automotive industry today. Many kinds of simulation techniques are used to improve the parts and assemblies found in the different phases of the car development activity.A detailed analysis of the “State of the art” in the development process of a German car manufacturer builds the basis for a new approach in the virtual product development of the automotive industry. In this approach the processes found in the area of sheet metal parts are innovatively redesigned and optimised in order to overcome the restrictions of the current state of the art process and to implement procedures to address future customer demands.
The main topic of this new Virtual Product Development (VPD) chain is the implementation of the forming history, from sheet metal simulation, in nearly all processes of the part development. Therefore the manufacturing simulation of sheet metal parts is placed directly after the design department activity in the development chain. In order to fulfil the high quality targets of the new process chain the manufacturing simulation was tested and optimised in the area of tube hydroforming. Also to assure a good and fast data transfer of the forming history to the other development departments a new data management system including user defined data interfaces is implemented.
In order to analyse the total benefit of the new VPD chain a test part was defined and the virtual development process was tested step by step. The test includes the analysis of the crash, strength and stiffness performance of the part with and without forming history. In the case of the crash performance a significant influence of manufacturing history can be detected. Also the strength analysis of the sheet metal parts and assemblies benefit from the implementation of the work hardening caused by the manufacturing process.
The new approach is based on the manufacturing results of the part. Therefore, the manufacturing process must be stable and results reliable. New simulation techniques were used to optimize the production robustness in the manufacturing process in order to avoid scrap and to control the spread from the output.
Based on the experience gained with the test part the complete new VPD is analysed highlighting the financial benefits, the engineering economy and the process advantages.
| Date of Award | 2010 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | David Harrison (Supervisor) & Anjali DeSilva (Supervisor) |