Altair Case Studies Revolutionizing Automotive Component Design with IoT: A Case Study of AAM

	Revolutionizing Automotive Component Design with IoT: A Case Study of AAM Altair

Revolutionizing Automotive Component Design with IoT: A Case Study of AAM

Altair

Technology Category	Drones - VTOL & VTOL Hybrid Drones Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Industries	Automotive
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Additive Manufacturing Manufacturing Process Simulation
Challenge	AAM, a global automotive supplier of driveline and drivetrain systems, was faced with the challenge of redesigning an automotive carrier with less weight and material usage than the original. The company, based in Detroit, Michigan, with offices in 13 different countries, specializes in the design and manufacturing of axles, chassis modules, driveshafts, transmission parts, and metal-formed products. The challenge was to create a lightweight design that would not only improve performance but also increase efficiency and fuel economy, which are particularly important in the automotive market. Read More
About Customer	AAM is a Tier-One global automotive supplier of driveline and drivetrain systems for light trucks, SUVs, passenger cars, crossover vehicles, and commercial vehicles. The company is based in Detroit, Michigan, and has offices in 13 different countries. AAM specializes in the design and manufacturing of axles, chassis modules, driveshafts, transmission parts, and metal-formed products. The company was an early adopter of Inspire and has used it on multiple projects over the years. AAM is currently using Inspire to generate concepts for many of its designs and plans to continue to use Inspire to assist with its structural designs to not only reduce mass but also increase part stiffness. Read More
Solution	AAM incorporated solidThinking Inspire into their design process to generate the optimal design for the redesigned carrier. The process began with the creation of a basic design space in CAD, which represented the maximum volume that the redesigned carrier could occupy. Following this, all the loading conditions were applied. Using Inspire, vertical beaming and gear forward and reverse loading conditions were applied, as well as manufacturing constraints. Inspire then generated the ideal shape for the new part, leading to the creation of an optimized ribbing design for the part. Structural components were optimized for bending and deflection performance. After further testing, interpretation, and validation of the new design, AAM determined that the new design was 20% lighter than the original. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Drones - VTOL & VTOL Hybrid Drones

Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

Applicable Industries

Automotive

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Additive Manufacturing

Manufacturing Process Simulation

Challenge

AAM, a global automotive supplier of driveline and drivetrain systems, was faced with the challenge of redesigning an automotive carrier with less weight and material usage than the original. The company, based in Detroit, Michigan, with offices in 13 different countries, specializes in the design and manufacturing of axles, chassis modules, driveshafts, transmission parts, and metal-formed products. The challenge was to create a lightweight design that would not only improve performance but also increase efficiency and fuel economy, which are particularly important in the automotive market.

About Customer

AAM is a Tier-One global automotive supplier of driveline and drivetrain systems for light trucks, SUVs, passenger cars, crossover vehicles, and commercial vehicles. The company is based in Detroit, Michigan, and has offices in 13 different countries. AAM specializes in the design and manufacturing of axles, chassis modules, driveshafts, transmission parts, and metal-formed products. The company was an early adopter of Inspire and has used it on multiple projects over the years. AAM is currently using Inspire to generate concepts for many of its designs and plans to continue to use Inspire to assist with its structural designs to not only reduce mass but also increase part stiffness.

Solution

AAM incorporated solidThinking Inspire into their design process to generate the optimal design for the redesigned carrier. The process began with the creation of a basic design space in CAD, which represented the maximum volume that the redesigned carrier could occupy. Following this, all the loading conditions were applied. Using Inspire, vertical beaming and gear forward and reverse loading conditions were applied, as well as manufacturing constraints. Inspire then generated the ideal shape for the new part, leading to the creation of an optimized ribbing design for the part. Structural components were optimized for bending and deflection performance. After further testing, interpretation, and validation of the new design, AAM determined that the new design was 20% lighter than the original.

Impact #1	The use of solidThinking Inspire in the design process led to the generation of an ideal concept utilizing multiple loading conditions. This resulted in the creation of an optimized ribbing design that significantly reduced the mass of the part. The new design also improved the internal component supports to reduce system deflection. The successful redesign of the carrier has led AAM to continue using Inspire for many of its designs, with the aim of reducing mass and increasing part stiffness. The company's experience with Inspire has positioned it as a 'super user' of the software.

Impact #1

The use of solidThinking Inspire in the design process led to the generation of an ideal concept utilizing multiple loading conditions. This resulted in the creation of an optimized ribbing design that significantly reduced the mass of the part. The new design also improved the internal component supports to reduce system deflection. The successful redesign of the carrier has led AAM to continue using Inspire for many of its designs, with the aim of reducing mass and increasing part stiffness. The company's experience with Inspire has positioned it as a 'super user' of the software.

Benefit #1	Creation of an optimized ribbing design with mass reduction of 20%
Benefit #2	The baseline design for the carrier weighed 47.97Kg, while the new design weighed in at 38.34Kg
Benefit #3	Achieved a gear deflection improvement with the new design

Benefit #1

Creation of an optimized ribbing design with mass reduction of 20%

Benefit #2

The baseline design for the carrier weighed 47.97Kg, while the new design weighed in at 38.34Kg

Benefit #3

Achieved a gear deflection improvement with the new design

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Overview

Revolutionizing Automotive Component Design with IoT: A Case Study of AAM

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit