AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY SPECIAL FOCUS Designs on fuel efficiency


As a provider of advanced thermal management products used by manufacturers of heavy duty electric and hybrid vehicles, Avid Technology is using 3D design software supplied by Symetri to get products to market as quickly as possible


N


ot only are most vehicle manufacturers today doing all


they can to ensure that new cars, buses and trucks run as fuel-efficiently as possible, but fleet operators are looking for systems that can be retro-fitted to existing vehicles to help combat rising costs and comply with environmental regulations. To help, advanced thermal


management products from Avid Technology are being adopted by manufacturers of heavy duty electric and hybrid vehicles as key components in their power train. They are also used to help manage the thermal loads of low emission diesel engines. Such systems are helping


to improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions, resulting in the technology becoming popular with bus operators needing to combat rising costs and reductions in government support.


However, with


Avid Technology uses 3D digital design when developing its advanced thermal management products


such systems needed urgently, the design engineers at Avid are under pressure to produce their work faster while still developing new ideas and products. Avid Technology has always relied on the latest design methods. “I can’t remember a time before 3D digital design,” said Ryan Maughan, managing director. “Designing for us is an entirely digital process right up to installation on the vehicle. We’ve never had to produce a physical prototype, which helps save a significant


amount of design time.” The company has always


used Autodesk Inventor house,


adding more licences as the team expands; and recently purchased Autodesk Product Design Suite which


PROTECTING CREW ON LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLES


A bespoke armoured composite crew compartment has been built by Morgan Advanced Materials, through its Composites & Defence Systems business area, for Tata Motors’ Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle (LAMV) programme for the Indian Ministry of Defence. The LAMV incorporates crew protection based upon the company’s bespoke composite and ceramic ‘pod’ technology. The pod creates a detachable, blast and ballistic-resistant crew compartment, which was easily integrated onto the Tata-produced chassis and can be modified to provide higher levels of protection as and when required. According to the company, the ceramic pod provided a weight saving in excess of 1000kg – making it less than half the weight of a similarly protected steel structure. The Composites and Defence Systems business of Morgan Advanced Materials


has been providing armour for a broad range of vehicles used in military operations – including the Mastiff, Ridgback and Wolfhound fleets – for more than eight years.


Morgan Advanced Materials www.morganadvancedmaterials.com Enter 223


combines Inventor with visualisation and simulation tools.


“Designing for us is an entirely


digital process right up to installation on the vehicle.


We’ve never had to produce a physical prototype, which helps save a significant amount of design time”


GETTING IT RIGHT FIRST TIME The first step for Avid’s design engineers is not to create the product itself but to model the space around it: “We normally create a space model in Inventor first so we know where all the hard points are,” explained Maughan. “This enables us to get 99% of the design right first time.” The system is then custom- built to fill the space. Inventor streamlines and simplifies the design of routed systems such as pipes and cables, enabling them to fit into the complex


assemblies and tight spaces,


creating accurate


calculations, avoiding small radius bends


and helping to ensure components all fit into


the mechanical assembly before manufacture. Rules-based routing tools ensure that pipe runs fit with design standards. All documentation is generated automatically, concurrent to development of the model. Inventor’s simulation tools enable


Avid’s designers to test the material properties of brackets and other components as an integral part of the process, feeding the results automatically back to the design. In other words, it enables users to test the validity of the model as they progress, rather than waiting for the finished design. “Most of our design engineers have been


trained by Symetri. Their course allows them to use the software in the most efficient way possible, and this way we know we are optimising our investment in the technology,” commented Maughan. He added: “We are growing at such


a fast rate and will be adding another five or so seats of Autodesk Product Design in the near future. The Inventor platform has the right flexibility for us and we can easily add more licences and seats as we grow.” Avid Technology understands the


importance of being able to act quickly but accurately, ensuring that design discrepancies are addressed as early on in the process as possible. This will enable it to maximise every opportunity and continue to build on its current success, the company explains.


Symetri www.symetri.co.uk Enter 222


/ DESIGNSOLUTIONS DESIGN SOLUTIONS | APRIL 2014 29


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