As you may be aware, new simulation tools are being used by different companies to improve their manufacturing processes. Virtual prototyping using simulation tools can impact every part of a given company’s process, from research and development to design and manufacturing.
For instance, the ability to simultaneously connect a variety of simulation results and quantify a variety of characteristics, such as fatigue and thermal properties, aided a South Wales global materials engineering group named Wall Colmonoy, where CAD programs and ESI ProCAST casting simulation software were used to design and manufacture seaming chucks and rolls for canning, neck rings for glass containers and valve seats for oil and gas.
When a company uses physical prototypes to make design iterations of a product, some materials (like metals) can’t be digitally fabricated or machined for a cost that doesn’t break the bank. If the end material is different than the prototyping material, then material properties of the end product can’t be accurately predicted, even when a company sticks with rapid prototyping or 3D printing. This is the reason why people use virtual prototyping and simulation software that is designed for a high level of compatibility with CAD engineering programs.
Virtual prototyping allows a designer to make many different digital iterations of a prototype before moving on to physical manufacturing, which gives engineers and designers the ability to get creative and try to create iterations faster and without fear of an expensive failure. It also gives them the ability to be a bit more deliberate with their design decisions, watching how one may displace another.
By accurately simulating a shop floor environment, minus any need for trial melts or predicting defects, the digital and simulated cast design that is finally sent along to be physically manufactured is going to be more correct than a design that has to constantly be physically fabricated during each and every iteration.
According to ESI engineer Les Fletcher, “ProCAST is specifically designed to improve casting yield and quality, and it’s been hugely successful in streamlining casting process design for companies such as Wall Colmonoy and Rolls-Royce. More than a thousand companies have adopted ProCAST since it was first developed and every day more and more manufacturers are realising the benefits Virtual Prototyping can bring to the casting process, be it high-pressure die casting, investment casting, shell casting, low pressure die casting, sand casting, gravity die casting, tilt pouring, or the lost foam process.”
Besides improving time-to-manufacture in the product design cycle by using ProCAST simulation software, Wall Colmonoy can think about expanding its services into aerospace and automotive markets, due to the ability to accurately predict and simulate various physical and material properties of components to be manufactured.
Wall Colmonoy is now considering ESI ProCast for other divisions within the company, including Franklin Bronze Precision Components, an investment casting manufacturer in Franklin, Pennsylvania. Franklin Bronze primarily makes investment castings for glass container, as well as mining, steel and valve & pump sectors of industry.
The fact that you can perform both thermal-flow-stress analyses as well as evaluations of all casting processes—including things like part distortion, microstructure, and mechanical properties prediction—makes engineers feel a bit safer when exploring what may be better versions of a virtual prototype before it must be physically manufactured.
Wall Colmonoy isn’t the only company benefiting from virtual prototyping.
German automotive manufacturer Opel is using ESI PAM-STAMP, a stamp simulation software, the company’s new lightweight design strategy. By detecting part distortion early in the design process, Opel is now able to efficiently counteract distortion of stamped parts made of Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS). The new process, supported by PAM-STAMP, leads to improved part quality, while delivering important weight reductions that translate into a lower carbon footprint for Opel’s vehicles.
The automotive industry is highly regulated and the penalties for skirting the law or providing false data are increasing. The main design problem that the automotive industry has is the need to design perpetually lighter vehicles that need less gas. Other design parameters require new automotive design to be safer and safer with every new model.
One way to reduce weight is to replace the grade of steel used. For example, AHSS grade steel weighs less, is less expensive and is flexible. Designing with AHSS grade steel is one thing, but manufacturing with AHSS has a major kink: becoming twisted from a significant amount of spring-back.
A recent collaboration between ESI Group, Thyssenkrupp System Engineering and Opel teamed up to try to eliminate the effects of excess spring-back in AHSS grade steel during manufacturing.
To better understand blankholder pressure, Opel used ESI PAM-STAMP, and actually figured out the combined influence of the punch radii and blankholder pressure, to help minimize the effects of any potential deviation from its true shape and size. To the company’s surprise, the less blankholder pressure there was, the less deviations occurred in the final shape.
Opel was expecting the opposite and, as the saying goes (“trust, but verify”), the company manufactured the tools to test how accurate the data was from simulation using ESI PAM-STAMP. The results were compared and found to be highly accurate. Opel made the decision to continue its investigation into whether or not AHSS grade steels would benefit the company’s manufacturing workflows.
Per Dr. Niels Koch, Opel’s Project Leader for Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, “This project was a major success due to the close collaboration between Opel[P1] , Thyssen Krupp System Engineering and ESI. It helped us predict and control the distortions, resulting in an efficient compensation of stamped parts using Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS). We were able to tackle the challenges related to the model’s geometry and its use within an intensive context, such as optimization,”
With options to view more and more 3D data in virtual reality, virtual prototyping also becomes an enabler of innovative companies looking to pass certification tests before they spend money on manufacturing physical prototypes. Powerful simulation software can be used to save money on manufacturing, if the expertise and engineering are there.
And, as products are becoming smarter and more autonomous, industrial manufacturers need to make their product design lifecycle leaner by cutting long term costs of prototyping precision components or investment castings. These companies would be wise to do the necessary due diligence on virtual prototyping options by exploring simulation software such as ESI ProCAST and PAM-STAMP.