Streamlining Simulation Reporting in Automotive Industry: A Case Study of MAHLE and Altair

MAHLE, a leading automotive systems supplier, faced a challenge in making their simulation results reporting consistent, thorough, and simpler to perform. The company conducts simulations for pistons, connecting rods, and pins, with pistons representing the majority of the group's work. The complexity of pistons, which must withstand high temperatures and huge inertia loads, introduces many variables into the design process. Six different engineers were creating slightly different reports, leading to variations in how the simulation story was being told to customers. The main question to be answered by the simulation is whether the piston will survive the engine test. These tests are quite expensive, and a pre-production piston needs to be tested before it is put into the engine to save physical testing costs and to enable more design iterations. The complexity of the evaluation is further increased by factors such as lightweight pistons, high-efficiency engines, highly-loaded four-cylinder engines, more variability, and different materials.

MAHLE is a Tier 1 automotive systems supplier based in Stuttgart, Germany, with over 64,000 employees globally expected to generate sales of over $13 billion in 2014. The company maintains 10 different research and development (R&D) centers around the world, including locations in China, Japan, Brazil, England, India, and the United States. In North America, MAHLE generated sales of over $2.6 billion in 2013, boasting 29 locations and more than 10,000 employees. All of MAHLE’s business units are represented in the region, Engine Systems and Components, Filtration and Engine Peripherals, as well as Thermal Management. All light vehicle and truck OEMs with production operations in North America are supplied by MAHLE. The company serves the independent spare parts market though its Aftermarket business unit. In addition, MAHLE services motorsports customers in the region.