Innovation Through Simulation 1

Product Development Time and Cost Reduction Through CAE Process

Automation

K.Sriram
Member R&D
TJS Motor Companv
Hosur
R.B.Anand
Member R&D
TJS Motor Companv
Hosur

N.Jayaram
G M R&D
TJS Motor Companv
Hosur

Abbreviations: CAE Computer Aided Engineering, HM - HyperMesh

Keywords: Automation

Abstract
Due to intense competition, the automotive industry has been targeting reduced product development cycle time
and lower design costs. Computer aided simulations have greatly helped to meet such stiII targets by minimizing
the need Ior prototype veriIication processes.
However, there is scope Ior Iurther enhancements in CAE to arrive at an optimal design. In order to completely
explore the design space to come up with the best design, a paradigm shiIt in the approach is required. This
paper explains the use oI automation techniques which save a lot oI time and eIIort in the area oI Iinite element
pre-processing oI generic automotive components. The time saved in this process can be used Ior optimization
eIIorts. Minimization oI the scope oI human error is an added advantage oI automation.

Introduction

Severe competition has resulted in the lowering oI proIit margins oI two wheelers. At the same time the price oI
raw materials and other related costs are increasing. Consequently to ensure survival and proIitability there is
tremendous pressure Ior reduction oI product development cost and time. In such a situation computer aided
simulations play a major role in proving the design. It is a well established Iact that simulations help to minimize
the need Ior testing, by veriIying the structural worthiness oI a component beIore the drawing release, thus
minimizing the need Ior iterative tool modiIications and expensive prototype testing. However, there is still a lot
oI scope Ior enhancing the application oI CAE in arriving at an optimal design. Such enhancements will move
CAE Irom the realm oI analysis to design.
This paper Iocuses on automation techniques which Iacilitate iterative FE analysis in the pursuit oI an optimal
design. The techniques involve the use oI macros to perIorm speciIic Pre-processing Iunctions. The highlight oI
this work is the macro to mesh two merged volumes, which is an improvement over the existing volume tetra
option oIIered by HyperMesh.








Innovation Through Simulation 2


































Create collectors
Solid Mesh
Shell Mesh
Create Materials
Import CAD model
Apply Load & BC
Pass ?
Release drawing
OK
NO
Solve
Auto Pre-Process
Import CAD model
Pass ?
Release drawing
OK
NO
Solve
Fig 1: Present Methodology oI Pre-Processing
Fig 2: New Methodology oI Pre-Processing

Innovation Through Simulation 3





















Process Methodology
The Iirst design oI a part may pass the structural simulations. But requirements oI style, manuIacturing, assembly
and serviceability may trigger Iurther modiIications. Since an automobile is an assembly oI more than a hundred
parts, modiIication oI a component leads to the design change oI the mating parts, starting a Iresh set oI
simulations.
In the current approach Pre-processing (creation oI material properties, component collectors, the surIace
meshing and the subsequent solid meshing and application oI loads and boundary conditions) is done manually
i.e., using the keyboard and mouse. This approach, as shown in Fig 1., consumes considerable time even Ior an
experienced person. Thus, a lot oI time is spent on activities which do not involve creative application oI a
technically trained intellect. In case the design undergoes iteration it leads to equal number oI repetitive
meshing, application oI loads and boundary conditions etc., which is monotonous. ThereIore there is a need to
address the issues oI eIIective utilization oI brain power. Motivated by such a need, an improved approach is
being put Iorward.






Fig 3 : Cross Section OI An Alloy Wheel
Fig 4 : Gasket
Fig 5 : Bimetal Connecting Rod
Fig 6 : Swing Arm

Innovation Through Simulation 4
TABLE I:
Steps in the generic macros Ior each oI the examples.
Alloy wheel cross section
Gasket
Bimetal Connecting rod Swing arm
Step 1 Create material properties and
collectors
Create material properties and
collectors
Create material properties and
collectors
Step 2 IdentiIy surIace, set mesh size,
set height oI extrusion and
create mesh

Set mesh size and create shell
elements
Ior each collector
Set appropriate thickness Ior
each collector
Step 3 Merge the common nodes in
case there are two materials
Merge the common nodes IdentiIy surIaces, set mesh size
and create mesh
Step 4

IdentiIy Iixed and Iloating tria
elements and create the solid
meshes.


Step 5



IdentiIy nodes by surIace and
apply loads boundary
conditions



In this approach, as shown in Fig 2., all the Pre-processing activities are done using automation tools called
macros. These macros are created with the help oI .cmI Iiles. For each generic component a set oI macros is
created, each oI which perIorms a particular Pre-processing activity. This approach has been tried and proven in
Iour diIIerent cases, listed below.
i) Mesh extrusion (eg: cross section oI an alloy wheel, Fig 3.)
ii) Mesh extrusion Ior a case with two diIIerent material properties. (Eg: Gasket, Fig 4)
iii) Solid mesh creation oI two merged volumes oI diIIerent materials. ( eg: Bimetal Connecting rod, Fig 5)
(presently volume tetra option can mesh a single volume with a single material)
iv) Shell mesh Ior an assembly with components oI diIIerent thicknesses (eg: Swing Arm Fig 6)
The role oI the generic macro in each oI the cases is explained in steps in Table I. For cases i) and ii) the steps are
almost identical.

Results & Discussions

As mentioned earlier the macro to mesh two merged volumes is something new, the steps involved in which are
mentioned in Table I. The users will beneIit a lot iI this option is included in Iuture versions oI HyperMesh.









Innovation Through Simulation 5
TABLE II:
Comparison oI meshing time (per iteration) Ior the two approaches

Cross section of
Alloy wheel
Gasket Bimetal connecting
rod
Original Approach 4 min 5 min 10 min
New Approach 1 min 1 min 2 min


The time taken Ior Pre-processing using the new approach is compared against that in original approach in Table
II. It is clear that there is a signiIicant time saving by the use oI macros.

The Table II mentions the meshing time details Ior simple and small components only. In case oI bigger
complex components the percentage oI time saving will be more. More importantly, there is a great reduction in
the more valuable human eIIort which will be realized when the design goes through several load cases Ior each
oI the iterations. (For example a Irame assembly can undergo upto Iive iterations). The eIIort can be reserved Ior
tasks which are intellectually more challenging. The use oI macros hardly requires meshing skills. Even a novice
can use the macros with ease to automatically generate meshes. Another consequence oI automation is the
minimization Ior the scope oI human error.

Benefits Summary

The beneIits oI the new approach are summarized below.

i) Time saving (by more than 50 per iteration)
ii) Reduces monotony.
iii) Requires little training to use.
iv) Scope oI human error minimized.

Challenges

The time taken Ior solid meshing merged volumes can be Iurther brought down iI there is an option to identiIy
common surIaces. Presently HM can Iind only the duplicate surIaces.
It may be observed that Table II does not mention the time details Ior the swing arm. The reason is that most oI
the Pre-processing time in such a welded assembly is consumed in establishing the links between various parts.
ThereIore there is no time saving as such. Presently there are two options to establish the link- ruled mesh and
rigid links. Both these options can be automated iI the HyperMesh oIIers the Iollowing Iacilities
i) IdentiIication oI curves by names or ids.
ii) The option to select nodes attached to an identiIied curve. Presently HM oIIers only the Iacility to
select nodes attached to a surIace.
These two options can automate the meshing and connection oI the parts oI a welded assembly consisting oI
tubes and plates. In addition, the Iollowing options will enhance the automation oI the application oI loads and
boundary conditions:
i) The Iacility to pick/display the nodes lying between two user-given points on the axes oI Cartesian
and Cylindrical co-ordinate systems.
ii) The Iacility to pick the nodes on an edge, which is identiIied by picking one node on the edge.
(Presently HM can Iill a hole iI one node on the periphery oI the hole is picked. A similar option is
required to pick a set oI nodes by selecting one node on the edge and Iorm an entity set).

The absence oI these options now poses a challenge in the automation oI Pre-processing oI some types oI
components. Inclusion oI these options will make HM a more versatile tool Ior the client in saving time and
money, in addition to helping the engineers to spend more eIIorts in the knowledge domain than in skill domain.


Innovation Through Simulation 6

Future Plans

In the near Iuture we plan to automate the meshing oI solids consisting oI multiple merged volumes and
components requiring both shell and solid elements. Automation oI Post-processing will help quick decision
making. Developing macros Ior hexameshing oI complex volumes is our long term goal, beIore venturing into
macros Ior pattern recognition.

Conclusions

We have made a small beginning in the CAE process automation. This approach has helped to save considerable
time and eIIort. The time and eIIort thus saved can be utilized Ior optimization oI the design. This study has
Iocused on pre-processing Ior linear static analysis. It can be saIely concluded that with enhancements in HM and
organised eIIort Irom the user, Iurther progress can be made in this direction, beneIiting the user in other high end
applications oI CAE.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express their thanks to Mr. Vinay Harne, Sr. Vice President (R&D), TVS Motor
Company Ltd. Ior his continued support to the present study. We also thank the management oI TVS Motor
Company Ltd. Ior allowing us to publish this work done by us. We take pleasure in appreciating the timely help
and assistance extended to us by our colleagues Mr. M. Kannan, Mr.Dora, Mr. K.V.M. Raju, Mr. Deepak, Mr.
Vikram Singh and Mr.Vamsi Krishna.

REFERENCES
|1| HyperMesh help documents