Accelerating Smartphone Drop-Test Simulation: A Case Study on LG Electronics

The smartphone industry is one of the fastest evolving and most competitive sectors in the electronics industry. New models are developed every few months, and any reduction in time to market can significantly impact a manufacturer's profitability, positioning, and reputation. However, certain aspects of the development process, such as drop-test simulation, have remained time-consuming and resistant to acceleration. Drop-test simulation is a crucial element in ensuring the quality and robustness of a smartphone. Despite using computer simulation for virtual drop testing, LG Electronics (LGE) faced challenges in shortening the simulation time due to the large number of parts and assemblies in smartphones, the time-consuming geometry cleanup, simplification, and meshing, and the multitude of contact definitions that required many manual steps. Thorough testing involves a variety of drop and bending conditions, where analysis setup is time-intensive. Post-processing and generating reports also contributed to the overall time to achieve results. On average, drop-test simulation took one to two weeks to set up, conduct, and analyze, with modeling and post-processing representing 60 to 80 percent of the time invested.

LG Electronics Inc. is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications, and home appliances. With annual worldwide sales of $45.22 billion in 2012, LG is one of the industry’s leading producers of flat panel TVs, mobile devices, air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators. The company is constantly developing new versions of smartphones, making it one of the fastest-selling, most rapidly evolving, and most competitive products in the electronics industry. The company's profitability, positioning, and reputation among consumers are significantly impacted by the time to market for new models.