In this blog, we\u2019re going to go a little further and discuss\nhow three design and production tools \u2014generative design, additive\nmanufacturing and virtual reality \u2014 are helping manufacturers create the\ncomplex products that drive the future of heavy equipment machinery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Design optimization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nManmade designs tend to have a lot of straight lines and\nsimple curves. Unfortunately, the designs are constrained by factors such as\nmanufacturing techniques, materials, aesthetics and availability. But they\u2019re\nnot optimized. Engineers have long started to look at nature for inspiration of\nperfect functional design. Natural designs have been shaped by natural forces\nto conform and adapt to their environment. They may not look optimal to us, but\nthey are optimized for their environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Digitalization can be used to optimize designs to match the\nenvironment where they will be included without the constraints of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a look at the series of images in Figure 1 with the man-made designs on top and the natural ones below. This is the start of thinking today\u2019s designs and thinking about how we get to tomorrow products with generative design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Manmade-and-natural-designs.jpg\")
Figure 1: Comparison of man-made and natural <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOne key benefit to generative design is shedding excess\nweight, which helps reduce fuel use and emissions while still meeting\nperformance and durability requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not easy to simulate heavy equipment because their use\ncases and conditions vary so much. That\u2019s why simulation is critical,\nespecially in areas such as noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), which helps\nminimize operator fatigue. To reduce time to market, it\u2019s imperative to get the\nright design early and ensure quality from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, so many manufacturers operate systems for\ndesign and validation that are disconnected. They\u2019re also relying far too much\non physical part testing. This slows down the design process and is much more\nexpensive than virtual testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s changing to the benefit of the design team is a\nconvergence of technologies that are opening up new possibilities in design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designers can designate the important parameters and\nfunctions of a design and then automatically generate shapes that are optimized\nfor material use, strength and other factors, instead of being constrained by\nthem. Then there is massive potential for light-weighting and material savings\nwhile also ensuring strength. Weak spots and potential failure points are not\njust discovered during the simulation but are fixed as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Design optimization software makes it easier to explore\nmultiple design alternatives to find the one that works best. When teams can\nbring feature parameter optimization, topology optimization, convergent\nmodeling and additive manufacturing technologies together, they can produce a\ntrue generative design in a single environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great example is AMAZONE<\/a> which develops and produces innovative agricultural technology. They created a virtual test track using Siemens software to predict the performance of their machines, decrease their number of prototypes and testing, and are better able to find and address design flaws at an earlier stage. A combination of all of these allowed AMAZONE to reduce their concept to production time from one year to fewer than 4 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Amazone-Blog-3.jpg\")
Amazone agricultural equipment<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n 2. Industrialized additive manufacturing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAs the heavy equipment market evolves toward customization,\nsupplier replacement parts over the life of those machines becomes more\ndifficult. At the same time, the lightweight designs necessary to reduce fuel\nconsumption and emissions will take new manufacturing methods such as lattice\ndesign, which helps create strong, lightweight components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The current approach to additive manufacturing makes it possible to print complex objects via a CAD\nsimulation model, creating layer-by-layer using various types of materials with\nhigh precision and repeatable quality.\n It can be difficult to scale up from\nprototype to mass production with additive manufacturing because things like\nchange management, translations and different data systems cause issues and\ncreates bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are new techniques and integrated solutions moving additive\nmanufacturing beyond prototyping and into production. Additive\nmanufacturing is becoming industrialized<\/a>. This means manufacturers\nutilizing these digital tools can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n- Scale additive manufacturing from prototypes to\nmass production, all in one system<\/li>
- Create strong, lightweight, optimized designs<\/li>
- Avoid costly redesigns by ensuring part manufacturability\nearly in the design stage<\/li>
- Quality check tools and identify issues<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Engineer can also update the build job with new part design in one system while monitoring the entire process and improving quality and efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Visualizing products with virtual reality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s take a look at how technology like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will revolutionize how designers and manufacturing personnel will have better training and more automation so they can work smarter and more efficiently. Current solutions are limited to 2D displays and techniques, for example, the 2D screen you\u2019re looking at right now. This also means collaboration issues, slow and expensive part checking, and safety concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An immersive 3D virtual environment though offers a digital\nmock-up, the ability to design in-context with AR and VR, virtual design\nreviews, high end rendering and lightwork design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The digital twin can help visualize innovative designs in a\ntrue 3D environment in many ways. Digital mock ups reduce or eliminate the need\nfor physical prototypes by helping to visualize and analyze virtual prototypes\nearly and often. These digital mock ups can also find and resolve form, fit and\nfunction design issues early in the design process with sophisticated spacial\nand analysis tools including clearance and interference analysis capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid distance, 3D virtual environments make it possible for\nentire teams to meet in an immersive 3D environment. Everyone on the team can\nview the same model and review, discuss and provide feedback in real time. With\naugmented reality and virtual reality, they can now interact with the digital\ntwin and make sure the team works with the latest design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knowing how the product looks before production means decisions\ncan be made early on about aesthetics or materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Virtual reality enables an immersive design review:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Visualize designs at full scale<\/li>
- Streamline and focus on the most important areas<\/li>
- Measure, inspect and validate using simple tools to quickly find issues and improve designs<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2020\/04\/Virtual-Reality-1.jpeg\")
Engineer using VR technology<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMeeting the demands\nof an evolving industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThe heavy equipment industry is transforming. Global trends\nand increased complexity are driving the need for digitalization to take the\nlead in advancing sustainable, traceable and reliable solutions. For those\ncompanies who want to remain competitive, it is critical to make digitalization\na comprehensive part of designing, producing and manufacturing products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the Xcelerator Portfolio, Siemens enables a\ncomprehensive digital twin. This includes software solutions to help design,\nsimulate and validate all the configurations of a digital machine and produce\nit in a digital environment first. Using smart manufacturing technologies,\nteams can simulate the digital performance of their product virtually and\ncollect the information in real time as manufacturing information or\noperational data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learn more how the Xcelerator Portfolio<\/a> is revolutionizing the way heavy equipment\nmanufacturers are designing, building and competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis concludes the third and final blog in our series. Check\nout the previous blogs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read Part 1: What\nwill it take to build the heavy equipment machines of the future?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
One key benefit to generative design is shedding excess\nweight, which helps reduce fuel use and emissions while still meeting\nperformance and durability requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not easy to simulate heavy equipment because their use\ncases and conditions vary so much. That\u2019s why simulation is critical,\nespecially in areas such as noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), which helps\nminimize operator fatigue. To reduce time to market, it\u2019s imperative to get the\nright design early and ensure quality from the very beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, so many manufacturers operate systems for\ndesign and validation that are disconnected. They\u2019re also relying far too much\non physical part testing. This slows down the design process and is much more\nexpensive than virtual testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s changing to the benefit of the design team is a\nconvergence of technologies that are opening up new possibilities in design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designers can designate the important parameters and\nfunctions of a design and then automatically generate shapes that are optimized\nfor material use, strength and other factors, instead of being constrained by\nthem. Then there is massive potential for light-weighting and material savings\nwhile also ensuring strength. Weak spots and potential failure points are not\njust discovered during the simulation but are fixed as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Design optimization software makes it easier to explore\nmultiple design alternatives to find the one that works best. When teams can\nbring feature parameter optimization, topology optimization, convergent\nmodeling and additive manufacturing technologies together, they can produce a\ntrue generative design in a single environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great example is AMAZONE<\/a> which develops and produces innovative agricultural technology. They created a virtual test track using Siemens software to predict the performance of their machines, decrease their number of prototypes and testing, and are better able to find and address design flaws at an earlier stage. A combination of all of these allowed AMAZONE to reduce their concept to production time from one year to fewer than 4 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the heavy equipment market evolves toward customization,\nsupplier replacement parts over the life of those machines becomes more\ndifficult. At the same time, the lightweight designs necessary to reduce fuel\nconsumption and emissions will take new manufacturing methods such as lattice\ndesign, which helps create strong, lightweight components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The current approach to additive manufacturing makes it possible to print complex objects via a CAD\nsimulation model, creating layer-by-layer using various types of materials with\nhigh precision and repeatable quality.\n It can be difficult to scale up from\nprototype to mass production with additive manufacturing because things like\nchange management, translations and different data systems cause issues and\ncreates bottlenecks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are new techniques and integrated solutions moving additive\nmanufacturing beyond prototyping and into production. Additive\nmanufacturing is becoming industrialized<\/a>. This means manufacturers\nutilizing these digital tools can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Engineer can also update the build job with new part design in one system while monitoring the entire process and improving quality and efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take a look at how technology like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) will revolutionize how designers and manufacturing personnel will have better training and more automation so they can work smarter and more efficiently. Current solutions are limited to 2D displays and techniques, for example, the 2D screen you\u2019re looking at right now. This also means collaboration issues, slow and expensive part checking, and safety concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An immersive 3D virtual environment though offers a digital\nmock-up, the ability to design in-context with AR and VR, virtual design\nreviews, high end rendering and lightwork design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The digital twin can help visualize innovative designs in a\ntrue 3D environment in many ways. Digital mock ups reduce or eliminate the need\nfor physical prototypes by helping to visualize and analyze virtual prototypes\nearly and often. These digital mock ups can also find and resolve form, fit and\nfunction design issues early in the design process with sophisticated spacial\nand analysis tools including clearance and interference analysis capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amid distance, 3D virtual environments make it possible for\nentire teams to meet in an immersive 3D environment. Everyone on the team can\nview the same model and review, discuss and provide feedback in real time. With\naugmented reality and virtual reality, they can now interact with the digital\ntwin and make sure the team works with the latest design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing how the product looks before production means decisions\ncan be made early on about aesthetics or materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Virtual reality enables an immersive design review:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The heavy equipment industry is transforming. Global trends\nand increased complexity are driving the need for digitalization to take the\nlead in advancing sustainable, traceable and reliable solutions. For those\ncompanies who want to remain competitive, it is critical to make digitalization\na comprehensive part of designing, producing and manufacturing products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the Xcelerator Portfolio, Siemens enables a\ncomprehensive digital twin. This includes software solutions to help design,\nsimulate and validate all the configurations of a digital machine and produce\nit in a digital environment first. Using smart manufacturing technologies,\nteams can simulate the digital performance of their product virtually and\ncollect the information in real time as manufacturing information or\noperational data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learn more how the Xcelerator Portfolio<\/a> is revolutionizing the way heavy equipment\nmanufacturers are designing, building and competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This concludes the third and final blog in our series. Check\nout the previous blogs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read Part 1: What\nwill it take to build the heavy equipment machines of the future?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Industrialized additive manufacturing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Visualizing products with virtual reality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Meeting the demands\nof an evolving industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n