Altair > Case Studies > Automating Vehicle Component Models for Enhanced Accuracy and Efficiency

Automating Vehicle Component Models for Enhanced Accuracy and Efficiency

Technology Category

Robots - Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGV)

Applicable Industries

Automotive
Buildings

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Leasing Finance Automation
Time Sensitive Networking

About The Customer

Changan Automobile is a leading automotive brand in China with over 30 years of experience in building and selling passenger vehicles. The company's industrial leadership was established more than 150 years ago as China’s first western-style engineering firm. Today, Changan is among China’s top four automobile groups and maintains the title of the top-selling domestic Chinese automotive brand. The company, whose name means 'lasting safety' in Chinese, is committed to developing the safest vehicles possible. To this end, it employs CAE software to continually improve upon this mission.

The Challenge

Changan Automobile, a leading Chinese automotive brand, was grappling with the time-consuming and error-prone process of pre-processing and setting up their vehicle components, specifically the twist beam. The need for the model to be as close to reality as possible for accurate results made the process extremely labor-intensive. This created a significant bottleneck in the development process, making it increasingly difficult for Changan to keep projects within the designated timeline. The challenge was to find a solution that could streamline this process, reduce errors, and improve efficiency.

The Solution

Changan turned to Altair, a provider of CAE software solutions, to address this challenge. Altair's Enterprise Solutions Group customized an existing packaged solution to suit Changan's specific needs, resulting in the Changan Chassis Structure Automation Tool. This tool guides users through the necessary process flow of pre-processing the model of the twist beam, automating repetitive tasks to save time. Users can now mesh the twist beam to achieve nearly the same level of detail seen in the actual component using HyperMesh, create welds based on analysis data, assign appropriate materials, and identify their contacts. The solution allows for accelerated model organization and rapid mesh generation. Once the model is set up, it can be imported into OptiStruct or any other solver to generate the desired results.

Operational Impact

The implementation of the Changan Chassis Structure Automation Tool has significantly improved the efficiency of Changan's model pre-processing. By automating and standardizing the process, the tool has eliminated much of the human error involved, providing more confidence in the accuracy of analysis data. The solution has also saved valuable development time, reducing model pre-processing time by 40-50%. As the solution is applicable to all vehicle components, Changan plans to apply it to all complex components where detailed analysis is necessary. The company is also in discussions with Altair to further enhance the tool, including adding a fatigue analysis capability.

Quantitative Benefit