Supporting engineering decisions through contextual, model-oriented communication and knowledge-based engineering in simulation-driven product development: an automotive case study

Abstract

Modern manufacturers rely increasingly on overlapping activities and frequent, bilateral exchange of preliminary information, adding to the complexity of information exchange and general reuse. The approach presented in this paper relies on a reuse process, embedded in the design environment already used, to avoid disrupting the design process and to increase the foundation upon which decisions are made. The proposed approach relies on knowledge-based extensions to commercial CAE systems and 3D CAE models to enable and ensure simulation-driven design capabilities and contextual communication within the early stages of product development. The approach has been shown to increase the simulation-driven capabilities in a business-to-business scenario, and in extension, increase the foundation upon which decisions are made and the likelihood of reaching a feasible and optimal final design. In conclusion, a simulation-driven design approach to product development has to be more than enabled to truly make a difference in the development process. Investigation and evaluations show that supporting tools and relevant information must be made readily available, intuitive, integrated into the environment where they are needed and, ultimately, be perceived as a natural part of daily development in order for them to be accepted and used.