Streamlining the Development Process of Glass Fiber Composite Products with IoT

Valeo, a leading automotive supplier, was faced with the challenge of covering a broad range of simulation tasks for model preparation of glass fiber polymer composite parts. The company was focused on lightweight design with the primary aim of reducing CO2 emissions and achieving improved fuel consumption. The typical development process involved model generation and preparation, the actual solving, post-processing, and result interpretation. However, due to regulatory requirements for CO2 emissions and the overall need in the automotive industry for better fuel efficiency, it was becoming increasingly important to consider lightweight issues within the development of automotive parts. This drive for lightweight design required new and lighter materials in vehicles. The challenge was to make these processes as efficient as possible while keeping software investments low. For continuous improvement, Valeo validates its development processes each year, always on the lookout for additional efficient tools to handle the simulations involved in their development processes.

Valeo is an independent industrial group fully focused on the design, production, and sale of components, integrated systems, and modules for the automotive industry. It ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The group has 124 plants, 20 research centers, 35 development centers, 12 distribution platforms, and employs 73,300 people in 28 countries worldwide. One of its major focuses is on lightweight design, with the primary aim of reducing CO2 emissions and achieving improved fuel consumption. At Valeo Lighting Systems (VLS), one of the company’s Business Groups, engineers focus on the virtual development of head and rear lamps.