DESIGN/MODELING/SIMULATION
GMC CarbonPro for Pickups
Industry-first carbon fiber composite box America is in love—with the pickup truck. The first one sold 209 units in 1917, the initial year of its production. Compare that to the first half of 2018 when 1.4 million pickups were sold. In the 1950s, the pickup went from a work vehicle meant for hauling to a […]
Parameters Introduces CogniCAD 2.0
ParaMatters, a generative design provider of autonomous topology optimization, parts consolidation and lightweighting software solutions, has released its second generation CogniCAD 2.0 platform. CogniCAD 2.0 is ParaMatters’ new holistic and agnostic generative design solution, building on its successful cloud-based, cognitive design and high-performance computational platform. CogniCAD 2.0 can automatically generate ready-to-3-D print, high-performance, lightweighted structures […]
Composites/AM – Circle of Life
Holistic optical metrology reduces costs, improves quality. Optical methods optimize composites and additive manufacturing (AM) for next-gen vehicles, from materials through life extension. Industry uses optical measurement systems throughout the design and manufacturing of next-generation material, structures and products. Optical metrology, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and photogrammetry are critical measurement methods because of their ability […]
Efficient Stamping Simulations
Focusing on production planning, process engineering, tool design, manufacturing. Introduction Lightweighting and safety needs have rapidly expanded applications of press hardening and newer-generation cold-forming steels, as well as warm and hot formable aluminum grades to Body-in-White components in recent years. Product design, manufacturing engineering and production technologies have delivered tremendous innovations toward efficient production of […]
Fuel Economy and Lightweighting Insights
What the switch to crossovers means—and much more. Two events last year dove deep into the realm of lightweighting—what’s happening now and what to expect down the road. In December, Ward’s Auto hosted a seminar on fuel economy and lightweighting. The overarching message stems from changing consumer behavior, away from small vehicles and instead, purchasing […]
McLaren Made Speedtail Fast and Lightweight
McLaren has introduced its first hyper-GT, the Speedtail. For all those sportscar lovers, it can reach 250 mph, accelerates to 186 mph in an impressive 12.8 seconds and is the company’s most powerful road car. Unless you have a very small family—it only has three seats—and $2 million, this might not be the vehicle for […]
How Full Size Pickup Trucks Ride the Fence Between Cafe & Customer Wants
The Big Three is turning to creative engineering solutions to meet demands. The popularity of the highly profitable and highly popular full-size pickup trucks in the U.S. market creates an interesting dichotomy for automakers. Customers want improved payload, towing capacity and fuel economy. Automakers want to give customers all three, but they must meet governmentmandated […]
LIFT’s New Undertakings
Lightweight Innovations For Tomorrow (LIFT) is launching its third round of technology projects. This round will total more than $6.5 million in combined federal and industry investment in critical lightweight solutions. “We are very pleased to launch these new projects with our partners to invigorate new innovation in lightweighting,” said Nigel Francis, chief executive officer […]
Bridging the Gap Between Tryout & Mass Production
The current industrial standard is to use a constant (coulomb) coefficient of friction. This limits the overall accuracy of the tryout’s forming process simulation. At present, the automotive industry is facing several trends, particularly the increased use of aluminium and thinner sheet materials. The trends are geared toward lightweighting, and they bring challenges, including the […]
Automotive Applications Embracing Metal Additive Manufacturing
Selective laser melting is set to revolutionize the market. Metal Additive Manufacturing, more commonly referred to as 3-D printing, grabs headlines in the aerospace, defense and medical sectors, but also continues to gain ground in the automotive industry for its ability to lightweight components, reduce assemblies and integrate performance features inconceivable through traditional machining methods. […]
