Altair Case Studies Revolutionizing Automotive Design: A Case Study on Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team

	Revolutionizing Automotive Design: A Case Study on Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team Altair

Revolutionizing Automotive Design: A Case Study on Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team

Altair

Technology Category	Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Applicable Industries	Equipment & Machinery Life Sciences
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development
Use Cases	Additive Manufacturing Manufacturing Process Simulation
Challenge	The Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team faced the challenge of designing and manufacturing a new Formula Student steering column mount. The existing steering column mount was complex, consisting of four different areas at different angles, making it difficult to produce with a 5-axis milling machine. The solution to produce this part consisted of four different milled aluminum parts that were all bolted together. The team was looking for a way to simplify the design and production process, reduce the weight of the part, and improve its performance characteristics. Read More
About Customer	The customer in this case is the Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team, which is involved in designing and manufacturing parts for Formula Student vehicles. The team is composed of students and researchers, including Michael Süß, a Research Fellow at the university who is currently working on his PhD focusing on design guidelines for additive manufacturing/electron beam melting. Michael also works closely with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, one of Europe's leading research institutions in the fields of adhesive technology, material sciences, and manufacturing techniques. Lucas Hofman, a current student at the university, also collaborated on this project. Read More
Solution	The team decided to use solidThinking Inspire for the design process and electron beam melting for the production of the new part. SolidThinking Inspire was chosen for its ease of use, integrated analysis tools, and PolyNURBS features, which allowed the team to quickly take optimization results and reconstruct the part for manufacturing. The electron beam melting process was chosen for its freedom in design and fewer design constraints compared to other manufacturing methods. The team worked with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM to complete the manufacturing using an Arcam A2X electron beam melting machine. The part was produced with a titanium alloy, which contributed to significant weight savings. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)

Applicable Industries

Equipment & Machinery

Life Sciences

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Additive Manufacturing

Manufacturing Process Simulation

Challenge

The Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team faced the challenge of designing and manufacturing a new Formula Student steering column mount. The existing steering column mount was complex, consisting of four different areas at different angles, making it difficult to produce with a 5-axis milling machine. The solution to produce this part consisted of four different milled aluminum parts that were all bolted together. The team was looking for a way to simplify the design and production process, reduce the weight of the part, and improve its performance characteristics.

About Customer

The customer in this case is the Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team, which is involved in designing and manufacturing parts for Formula Student vehicles. The team is composed of students and researchers, including Michael Süß, a Research Fellow at the university who is currently working on his PhD focusing on design guidelines for additive manufacturing/electron beam melting. Michael also works closely with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM, one of Europe's leading research institutions in the fields of adhesive technology, material sciences, and manufacturing techniques. Lucas Hofman, a current student at the university, also collaborated on this project.

Solution

The team decided to use solidThinking Inspire for the design process and electron beam melting for the production of the new part. SolidThinking Inspire was chosen for its ease of use, integrated analysis tools, and PolyNURBS features, which allowed the team to quickly take optimization results and reconstruct the part for manufacturing. The electron beam melting process was chosen for its freedom in design and fewer design constraints compared to other manufacturing methods. The team worked with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials IFAM to complete the manufacturing using an Arcam A2X electron beam melting machine. The part was produced with a titanium alloy, which contributed to significant weight savings.

Impact #1	The redesign of the steering column mount using solidThinking Inspire and electron beam melting resulted in a part that was not only lighter and stiffer, but also simpler to produce. The reduction in the number of necessary parts from four to one simplified the production process and reduced the overall design time by 50%. The use of electron beam melting also resulted in 90% less wasted material compared to the previous manufacturing process. The team was able to move extremely fast from optimization to the final manufactured part, thanks to the PolyNURBS tools in Inspire. The new steering column mount is now in the post-processing phase and is expected to be included on the Formula vehicle very soon.

Impact #1

The redesign of the steering column mount using solidThinking Inspire and electron beam melting resulted in a part that was not only lighter and stiffer, but also simpler to produce. The reduction in the number of necessary parts from four to one simplified the production process and reduced the overall design time by 50%. The use of electron beam melting also resulted in 90% less wasted material compared to the previous manufacturing process. The team was able to move extremely fast from optimization to the final manufactured part, thanks to the PolyNURBS tools in Inspire. The new steering column mount is now in the post-processing phase and is expected to be included on the Formula vehicle very soon.

Benefit #1	Reduction in number of necessary parts from four to one
Benefit #2	35% weight savings on steering column mount (330g down from 500g)
Benefit #3	5x increase in stiffness on new part

Benefit #1

Reduction in number of necessary parts from four to one

Benefit #2

35% weight savings on steering column mount (330g down from 500g)

Benefit #3

5x increase in stiffness on new part

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Overview

Revolutionizing Automotive Design: A Case Study on Technische Universität Dresden's Formula Student Team

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit