Paul Siodmok picks out some of the best examples of CAD in action – from bringing new wheelchairs and briefcases to market to developing the latest concept cars
Project: Triumph Triple Speed Motorcycle
Client: Triumph Motorcycles
Designer: Triumph Motorcycles in-house team
Year: 1994
Triumph found that it was difficult and time consuming to create freeform surfaces in its solid modelling application. So it started searching for a more automated method to develop efficient, aesthetically pleasing, production-quality surfaces.
Triumph had been developing entire motorcycles in its solid modelling CAD system. However, the company soon found that it was difficult and time consuming to create freeform surfaces in a solid system. So Triumph turned to utilising CAD surfacing and a reverse engineering system to develop Class A surfaces from the existing clay model.
In the surfacing world at Triumph, aesthetic, freeform shapes frequently begin with a concept design. Prior to surface development, a reflectance plot of the desired highlights and body shape is applied to the electronic data to quickly determine the desired features and lay out the surface patch network. Using this network, the exterior skin is created and design intent maintained.
Project: Aston Martin DB9 Motorcar
Client: Aston Martin/Ingeni
Designer: Henrick Fisker/Ingeni
Year: 2004
The V12-engined composite-chassis-based DB9 Aston Martin was developed with the use of advanced CAD technologies from concept to production.
From reverse engineering the clay model, to finite element analysis of exhaust gases, CAD reduced the development time of the DB9, allowing launch at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003.
Increased use of CAD technologies is allowing Aston Martin to develop new products with target production of 5,000 vehicles in the near future - a number that will rival Ferrari.
Project: Quickie P222 powered wheelchair USA
Client: Sunrise Medical
Designer: In-house design and engineering team
Year: 2001
Finding a stable, easy to use, feature-rich CAD system was difficult according to Sunrise. Acquiring that system for a price that justified a shift from the current CAD system was impossible until the implementation of a new 3D system.
Through the implementation of the system, the organisation was able to achieve the following milestones:
- Decreased design period from just over 18 months to 8 months
- Saved $40-50,000 by reducing the number of prototype fabrication stages from two to one
- Reduced errors by over 50%
- Increased sales by over 50%
This new CAD system helped Sunrise Medical launch five new products in the space of two years.
Project: Land Rover Range Stormer Concept Car and Alias AutoStudio Software
Year: 2004
Land Rover exploited the power and technical superiority of Alias' AutoStudio design and visualisation software to deliver a ground breaking concept vehicle. Initial ideas for the car were drawn on paper, with team members contributing to each part of the vehicle design. Using StudioTools these concepts were then digitally sketched, modelled and presented as visualisations. According to Richard Woolley, Land Rover's Design Studio Director, the ideas gelled very quickly using this process, so it was easy to move from this stage to passing the initial design ideas on to the Computer Aided Styling Team (CAS) at Land Rover for the precise data work.
The Range Stormer project is a showcase for Land Rover for a vast array of design and technology innovations. One example is 'Terrain Response' technology which optimises the vehicle set-up - suspension, engine and traction control - through the touch of a button to deliver the best possible on- and off-road vehicle control. The driver selects one of the six Terrain Response settings, from 'dynamic' for high-speed use to 'deep ruts' for cross country driving, and the vehicle automatically configures itself.
As the driver cycles through the options, the Range Stormer's Terrain Response display unit shows 3D animations representing each of the terrain options. These visualisations were animated in Maya, Alias' 3D modelling and animation software.
'Terrain Response will be included in all of our new performance vehicles going forward, including the new Discovery 3,' explains Woolley. 'We wanted to make some of the new technological developments apparent to the driver at a very visual level and Maya has enabled us to do this perfectly with the driver's display.'
Project: Vectis Camera
Client: Minolta
Designer: Minolta in-house team
Year: 2000
Minolta benchmarked existing systems, as well as several others, to find the best one for its new product development process.
During this project, Minolta engineers used advanced CAD software to view complex assemblies and help eliminate interferences among components.
The software also helped them verify manufacturability and assembly procedures. Once the 3D model was proven in these ways, the data was used to generate rapid prototypes and user documentation/manuals.
The Osaka Division has also translated 30,000 drawings and the Mikawa Division has translated 70,000 into 3D CAD files.
Drafting productivity has increased significantly. Users are now able to create drawings 20% faster compared to the previous system.
Project: SEAT Salsa Showcar, Spain
Client: SEAT S.A. VW Group
Designer: SEAT in-house design team
Year: 2000
The SEAT Salsa sprang from combining a minivan coupe with the base of the Leon model and working up thousands of proposals from the first outline. Styling work in 3D was carried out in parallel with building the model's technical form (location of wheels, seats, etc) so that everything would match up perfectly. Once the two elements were combined, the physical form was modelled in clay and repeated either through milling or manually, until a perfect finish was achieved and the automobile was ready for the auto show.
This CAD methodology cut development time in half at SEAT. Manel Garces, lead designer at SEAT, believes digital technology has allowed automobile design to take an enormous step forward. 'By working with StudioTools we can shorten process times. For instance, models that previously needed six years to develop can now be on the road in three. By using Alias visualisation tools, a model's degree of viability can be defined without having to go through the process of manufacturing it.'
Project: Hardlite Briefcase
Client: Samsonite
Designer: Samsonite in-house design team
Year: 2002
Samsonite has revamped the design process through utilising advanced CAD technologies.
Management realised that this project, involving the joint efforts of Samsonite engineers, a German lock maker and a Portuguese mould maker, would demand error-free communication and smooth collaboration.
Just working out bugs related to the new moulding process could require hundreds of design modifications, a process that formerly took a long time due to data translation delays and errors.
To speed this process, Samsonite decided to engineer the entire product (case and moulds) in Unigraphics, with suppliers using this software as well. Modelling took place simultaneously at all three sites.
Teamcenter Engineering gave engineers immediate access to all product definition data. Samsonite used Teamcenter Visualisation instead of paper drawings to convey design concepts to management and marketing personnel.
Project: Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Seat
Client: Virgin Atlantic
Designers: Design Q, Alias AutoStudio, Pro E, Catia
Year: 2003
Design Q took the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class seat from concept to production in 30 months. After the initial sketch phase, the layout of the seat and cabin was transcribed into 2D CAD. This allowed Design Q to refine the design by making millimetre adjustments to the configuration of the seat and tray table. Digital mannequins were also positioned in the CAD cabin environment to assess passenger eyeline height and privacy.
Alias visuals were used in combination with Photoshop to illustrate the concept to both the client and global suppliers. Subsequently Alias CAD data was passed onto Britax who analysed the engineering requirements in Pro Engineer.
The new seat for Virgin has reinvigorated Virgin's Upper Class service in this extremely competitive sector.
Project: Lamborghini Motor Spa and ICEM Surf Software
Year: 2004
The Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster, launched by the Italian super-car manufacturer at the 2004 Mondial de l’Automobile (Paris Motor Show), relied heavily on the ICEM Surf software suite to streamline the design development process for the vehicle’s body and interior.
ICEM Surf was used by Lamborghini throughout the Murcielago Roadster development project to transform the stylists’ designs into the final, production-ready Class A surface model data required for the tooling development process and subsequent manufacture of all the customer-visible components of the car.
'Using ICEM Surf on the Murcielago Roadster project enabled us to streamline the design development workflow process through better integration of the different design phases', said Andrea Bonfatti, Lamborghini’s body development manager. 'Stylists, surface design engineers and manufacturing engineers were able to work together, using ICEM Surf visualisations of the vehicle to examine and agree on various aspects of the design from an aesthetic and an engineering feasibility viewpoint. This shortened the development time and also enabled us to reduce the number of physical models needed, which in turn reduced the development costs.'
Project: Lighting systems and ballasts
Client: Osram Sylvania
Designer: Osram in-house team
Using 3D CAD has made the processes of model construction, design verification, collaboration, analysis, data exchange and presentations much faster and more intuitive than before.
This new CAD system has enabled Osram to:
- Collaborate throughout their worldwide organisation
- Drag and drop from vendors' websites
- Use the Warp function to twist or bend complex parts
- Increase engineering productivity due to the new functionality and interface
'The web-centric collaboration will be a big advantage for communicating within our multinational, worldwide organisation,' says Alex Oksengendler, Mechanical Engineering Manager, Osram SA.