The Benefits of CAE Analysis to Product Development
For years, data drawn from numerical simulation was viewed with skepticism, but the long-held axiom that the physical test results are the data of record is starting to erode. Manufacturers are gaining more confidence in analysis software as their experience and understanding of CAE grows, and as increasing numbers of successful products emerge as a result of heavier reliance on CAE. In addition, the software has become easier to use and implement in conjunction with a physical test, enabling practitioners to better correlate results and increase confidence in digital methods. The steady maturation of analysis software coincides with the availability and affordability of high performance computing architectures, making faster CAE possible and desktop CAE a reality.
The use of CAE analysis can provide many important advantages for a company.[1-3] These important advantages include:
- speed up of the design cycle and shorter time to market
- fewer prototypes
- consideration of a wider variety of designs
- earlier detection of design errors and failures
- less failures and increased reliability
- decreased testing
- lower costs
These advantages were recently highlighted in Ref.4[4] which examined the trend in the motorsport industry. In the past, the ratio of tests to simulations was very large. However, with the increase in computational power and the quality of analysis software that ratio has inverted.[4]
Analysis also gives engineers access to quantities not easily measurable in a wind tunnel.[4]
The cost for testing is large but not intractable when only a single design option is considered. Testing multiple design options is uncompetitive, however. This is where the benefit of analysis is strong,[4,5] i.e., the ability to analyze multiple design options and screen out only the best ones for testing.
It has been estimated that the time and cost savings using CAE analysis can range from 30% to 50% during the product development phase.[5] Not only can design options be screened out and the best ones used for prototype testing, but prototypes can pass testing the first time eliminating time consuming and costly iterations.
Understanding the Cost Impact to Diesel Engine Manufacturers
Early in the product-development process, diesel engine manufactures negotiate the features and purchase (i.e., market) price with vehicle producers (e.g., passenger car, light and heavy duty trucks and off-highway construction equipment) who integrate the engine with the rest of the powertrain. This negotiation typically occurs 3-4 years before the product is made available on the market. From the time the product-development process initiates to the time the engine goes into production, the opportunities to renegotiate the purchase price are limited. In fact, this may occur only when, for example, a vehicle producer changes the volume of units purchased or changes the desired features in the product.
This purchase price is then cascaded into a target cost for the engine which is the maximum cost for which the engine can be produced. This cost is set to achieve certain business goals such as a 15% return on net assets (RONA). The target cost includes items such as the cost of raw materials, direct labor (i.e., manufacturing) used to produce and assemble the components into an engine, capital equipment used in the production and assembly of the engine components, sales and marketing, prototype parts and testing and indirect labor such as management, administration and engineering (e.g., design and analysis).
Engineering has a direct impact on the target cost because engineering has the responsibility of choosing the material and shape of the components to meet the performance, appearance and durability requirements of the engine. Obviously, material choice affects the raw material cost while the part shape dictates the manufacturing and assembly processes and therefore impacts the capital investment in equipment and direct labor costs. Material and component shape also affect performance and durability. Poor designs lead to re-designs and additional testing and cost overruns. The cost of these "poor" choices must be recouped at the the expense of a manufacturer's RONA since market price is fixed.
As previously stated, analysis helps engineering make better choices. Analysis done well provides competitive advantage to companies because it reduces the target cost associated with raw materials, prototype parts, testing, engineering and manufacturing.
References
- C.A.E. Segment of PLM Growing at Most Rapid Rate, Loiuse Elliott, Desktop Engineering, December, 2004.
- Pushing the Design Envelope with CAE, Mark Halpern, Mechanical Engineering.
- Daratech's CAE Survey Highlights Growth in 2006, Vicki Blake, Daratech, Inc., 2006.
- Measure Twice, Cut Once, Dan Carney, AEI Magazine, December, 2005.
- Analysis in Action: The Value of Early Analysis, Gregory Roth, Eaton Corporation White Paper, Michigan, 1999.
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