Redefining Automotive Product Design

Automotive engineering design has transitioned over the years

It is a great time for engineers, as computer aided design and computational analysis allows them to engineer automotive product design and build vehicles that are exceedingly fuel efficient, sleek and glamorous.

The vehicle engineering industry has gone through a revolutionary phase with the CAD and CAE advancements, and now engineers can conceive designs and test cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, etc in a way like never before.

Experts say that engineers can cut down as much as 40% of the time consumed in a conventional automobile designing, prototyping and testing process, if they adopt CAD and other computational methods.

Computer Expedited Design Process – Developing Well Engineered Automobiles

Some still believe that, investing in high end computers, software and infrastructure is a costly affair, and hence it is better to use conventional methods.

However, what businesses fail to understand is that there is no need to set up an in-house facility. Vendors offering expert CAD/CAE capabilities can be utilized for the job – only after due-diligence.

The truth is that, it is very cost effective and a smart business strategy to introduce CAD/CAE in the early design phase.

If we go a few years down the lane, vehicle makers refrained from experimenting and iterating designs, because with the conventional engineering methods such iterations for say a little benefit in aerodynamics or for fuel efficiency could cost a lot more if the experiment failed.

However now, with computational design and analysis tools at hand, dozens of design possibilities can be experimented at much lesser cost and in a quicker turnaround time, than what it takes to prototype and test a single design.

Designing a Dream Vehicle for Every Consumer

Every consumer expects that the automobile he buys has the best features. However, there have been several instances in the past, where car manufacturers had to recall their vehicles because of design flaws like higher carbon emissions, faulty and dangerous airbag malfunction etc.

Using computational methods to simulate and analyze designs thoroughly can help manufacturers detect flaws in advance and device solutions to prevent such malfunctioning. This saves a lot of time, revenues and most importantly, the brand image.

If there are frequent instances where a manufacturer has to recall vehicle batches because of faulty automobile product designs, it hampers the image of the brand, and it means putting the trust of consumers at stake.

A wider use of computational methods for vehicle engineering, allows problem detection and correction, early on, in the design phase.

Engineers carry out structural, NVH, crash and impact, fatigue, thermal, and CFD analysis using computational methods to develop refined vehicle designs.

Use of computer aided design and engineering software expedites the process of analysis and development of automobiles and hence ensures that only well engineered and high performance products reach the market.

Some Popular Applications of Computer Aided Engineering Across the Automotive Design & Engineering Discipline Include:

Applying suitable boundary conditions and loading cases to car body parts and identification of regions that need a design modification.

Conducting vibration analysis for auto parts like a purge chamber and suggesting design changes to reduce the excessive stress concentration caused due to vibration if applicable.

Aerodynamic analysis of a car design for higher fuel efficiency and better performance

Auto part performance optimization using different computational methods and tools

Reverse engineering automobile parts for identifying accurate dimensions and design, required for manufacturing

Designing ergonomic interiors in an automobile for increased passenger comfort

Analyzing vehicle design for measuring carbon emissions, and suggesting design iterations to reduce the same.

Reverse Engineering Using CAD/CAE – An Emerging Trend

It is a growing trend amongst car manufacturers to reverse engineer existing (old fashioned or less efficient) automobile parts, and re design them using computational simulations and analysis methods for better, reformed and highly efficient body parts.

This is done to revive an automobile from the decline stage of its lifecycle and re-launch it with an improved and fit for the modern age avatar.

The Changing the Face of Automotive Engineering

Automobile manufacturers have understood that in order to withstand competition, it is necessary to engage experts who can apply CAD and CAE across a wider range of automobile design applications.

As a result, digital product development using several computer aided design and engineering tools has become an integral part of the PLM process for an automotive.

Technologies like FEA, CFD and multi body dynamics have empowered engineers to experiment more, convert their ideas into reality and test the feasibility and efficiency of these innovations even before a vehicle experiences its first wind tunnel.