Flexibility and Cost Efficiency in Automotive Development: A Case Study on HBPO GmbH

HBPO GmbH is a joint venture operated by the worldwide innovation and market leaders for lighting and electronics (Hella KGaA Hueck & Co.), vehicle air conditioning and engine cooling (Behr GmbH & Co. KG), and painted exterior body components and plastic systems (Plastic Omnium Auto Exterior S.A.S.). The joint venture develops, manufactures and distributes intelligent front-end modules for vehicle manufacturers. Setting new benchmarks in the market with solutions which are as technically sophisticated as they are economically attractive, HBPO is the only system integrator worldwide to specialize in the development, assembly and logistics of complete front-end modules. In 2011, sales totaled 1.05 billion Euros. Worldwide, HBPO employs more than 1,400 people who currently assemble around 4.4 million front-ends per year.

HBPO GmbH, a joint venture of global leaders in automotive components, specializes in the development, assembly, and logistics of complete front-end modules for vehicle manufacturers. The challenge lies in the complexity of these modules, which require numerous components like headlights, radiator grille, bumper, front-end carrier, and components of the vehicle’s air conditioning, engine cooling, and crash management system. Depending on customer requests and preset specifications, HBPO covers assembly, development, and systems integration projects. The development and assembly of a front-end module require a wide variety of simulation applications, such as structural analysis, molding simulation, virtual crash tests, material data management, and more. Numerous varying software tools are required, some of which are only rarely used. To cover all these disciplines, it is crucial for HBPO to keep the development costs as low as possible and to have access to the required tools whenever they are needed.

HBPO uses state-of-the-art tools in its module development to guarantee maximum quality at minimized development time and costs. These tools are provided by Altair, the Altair Partner Alliance (APA), and other CAE providers. HBPO’s engineers access floating licenses available at the company to access HyperWorks alongside a suite of third-party applications from Altair Alliance Partners. The flexibility of these HyperWorks units allows users to access the largest and most complete suite of CAE applications available in the market at no incremental cost and with no long-term commitment. As the APA is constantly expanding its offering of software tools, the customer’s ROI also continues to grow. Among the tools HBPO accesses via the Altair Partner Alliance are Moldex3D for mold simulation, KEY to METALS for material data management and material selection, MADYMO for occupant safety analyses and design optimization. From the HyperWorks Suite the company uses HyperMesh, HyperView and the BatchMesher for preand post-processing tasks, HyperForm for forming simulation, Result Mapper to map the simulation results, HyperStudy and HyperGraph also for post processing, plus OptiStruct as well as RADIOSS for optimization, linear, and nonlinear structural analysis.

• The use of Altair's tools and the Altair Partner Alliance (APA) has allowed HBPO to access a wide range of software tools flexibly and cost-effectively. This has enabled them to maintain a high level of quality in their front-end module development while minimizing development time and costs. The flexibility of the HyperWorks units has allowed HBPO to access the largest and most complete suite of CAE applications available in the market at no incremental cost and with no long-term commitment. This has resulted in a continuously growing ROI for the company. Furthermore, the use of these tools has allowed HBPO to reduce the number of physical prototypes required, significantly shortening the development time. The APA has also provided HBPO with cost-efficient access to a broad library of material data crucial for the development of their front-end modules.

• Material reduction
• Fewer prototypes / no prototypes required
• Cost and time savings in the development process