Altair Case Studies Boosting 3D Printing Design with Simulation: Ford's Experience with Altair Inspire

	Boosting 3D Printing Design with Simulation: Ford's Experience with Altair Inspire Altair

Boosting 3D Printing Design with Simulation: Ford's Experience with Altair Inspire

Altair

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation
Applicable Industries	Automotive Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Additive Manufacturing Manufacturing Process Simulation
Services	Testing & Certification
Challenge	Ford Motor Company, a global automotive giant, was facing challenges in the realm of Additive Manufacturing (AM), a process that involves adding material layer by layer to manufacture components. This technology, while promising significant benefits such as cost reduction, tooling improvements, and the ability to create complex designs, is relatively new. As a result, the industry's expertise in AM is not on par with traditional manufacturing. Ford found it challenging to set printer parameters correctly, as incorrect settings could lead to structural failures, performance deficiencies, and aesthetic issues in the printed components. The pursuit of mechanical design efficiency often led to overlooking critical considerations. Read More
About Customer	Ford Motor Company is a Fortune 50 automotive company that operates plants worldwide, producing millions of vehicles annually. Committed to being the world's most reliable mobility and intelligent vehicle design company, Ford maintains engineering centers in various locations, including the USA, India, Mexico, Germany, and Brazil. The company has been working with Altair for over 30 years to support its product development activities. Today, Ford employs Altair software globally to aid in the development of its cars, trucks, and heavy equipment. Read More
Solution	Ford implemented AM along with Altair Inspire's 3D printing simulation within their product development process. This combination helped Ford identify potential error states throughout the manufacturing lifecycle, providing crucial information to optimize and ensure first-time quality through design. The focus was on bracket design, which aimed to improve heat management via internal cooling channel design. The simulation allowed the creation of complex, optimal geometries for brackets, promoting more effective heat dissipation and better mechanical behavior and dimension control. Altair Inspire's 3D printing simulation, coupled with a design of experiment process created with Altair HyperStudy, helped solve issues typically encountered at the printing stage, such as detachment of supports and aesthetic finish problems. It also enabled printer parameter optimization for peak performance. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Digital Twin / Simulation

Applicable Industries

Automotive

Equipment & Machinery

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Additive Manufacturing

Manufacturing Process Simulation

Services

Testing & Certification

Challenge

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive giant, was facing challenges in the realm of Additive Manufacturing (AM), a process that involves adding material layer by layer to manufacture components. This technology, while promising significant benefits such as cost reduction, tooling improvements, and the ability to create complex designs, is relatively new. As a result, the industry's expertise in AM is not on par with traditional manufacturing. Ford found it challenging to set printer parameters correctly, as incorrect settings could lead to structural failures, performance deficiencies, and aesthetic issues in the printed components. The pursuit of mechanical design efficiency often led to overlooking critical considerations.

About Customer

Ford Motor Company is a Fortune 50 automotive company that operates plants worldwide, producing millions of vehicles annually. Committed to being the world's most reliable mobility and intelligent vehicle design company, Ford maintains engineering centers in various locations, including the USA, India, Mexico, Germany, and Brazil. The company has been working with Altair for over 30 years to support its product development activities. Today, Ford employs Altair software globally to aid in the development of its cars, trucks, and heavy equipment.

Solution

Ford implemented AM along with Altair Inspire's 3D printing simulation within their product development process. This combination helped Ford identify potential error states throughout the manufacturing lifecycle, providing crucial information to optimize and ensure first-time quality through design. The focus was on bracket design, which aimed to improve heat management via internal cooling channel design. The simulation allowed the creation of complex, optimal geometries for brackets, promoting more effective heat dissipation and better mechanical behavior and dimension control. Altair Inspire's 3D printing simulation, coupled with a design of experiment process created with Altair HyperStudy, helped solve issues typically encountered at the printing stage, such as detachment of supports and aesthetic finish problems. It also enabled printer parameter optimization for peak performance.

Impact #1	With the implementation of Altair's software solutions, Ford gained a better understanding of the 3D printing manufacturing processes. The simulation showed good correlation results between the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model and physical testing, providing a qualitative correlation against the result on the physical manufacturing method. This allowed Ford to identify and propose the best process parameters to avoid future failures before going into production. The use of HyperStudy technology for the design of experiments also added value to the analysis' decision-making process, enabling Ford to identify the impact of the process parameters on the output variables.

Impact #1

With the implementation of Altair's software solutions, Ford gained a better understanding of the 3D printing manufacturing processes. The simulation showed good correlation results between the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) model and physical testing, providing a qualitative correlation against the result on the physical manufacturing method. This allowed Ford to identify and propose the best process parameters to avoid future failures before going into production. The use of HyperStudy technology for the design of experiments also added value to the analysis' decision-making process, enabling Ford to identify the impact of the process parameters on the output variables.

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Overview

Boosting 3D Printing Design with Simulation: Ford's Experience with Altair Inspire

Operational Impact