esi talk 39

Letov develops two components in a single high quality part with PAM-FORM

Faster, optimized distortion and stress analyses with Visual-WELD

special report

Rapid Die Face Design: a step towards End-to-End Virtual Prototyping

issue 39 | spring / summer 2010

The Virtual Prototyping Magazine

issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 3

Virtual Manufacturing has become very powerful for the

industry as it helps prevent and solve critical problems that

can occur during production. Indeed, many of the existing

Computer-Aided Engineering/Design/Manufacturing systems

are dedicated to a specific manufacturing process or testing

procedure, which makes them both essential and easy-to-use.

These systems, however, are reaching their limits – for the

same reasons that have made them strong. Because these

are dedicated tools, it is a challenge to move on to the next

step: End-to-End Virtual Prototyping, to integrate the entire

manufacturing chain. The performance of manufactured parts

and components depends on their manufacturing history. A

stamped part will have thickness variations, stresses and strains

introduced and modified by the welding which will ultimately

change the performance of the part. This is why the entire

manufacturing chain must be taken into account for accurate

End-to-End Virtual Prototyping. The key strength and differ-

entiation of End-to-End Virtual Prototyping is that it enables

the concurrent engineering of all manufacturing effects, not

only to evaluate manufacturability but also to improve the

performance of the simulation models.

When looking at Sheet Metal Forming, the trend is to inte-

grate the simulation stage into the Product Lifecycle Manage-

ment and Computer-Aided Design systems. The prior process

was to perform early feasibility studies based on rapid die

face designs, which did not allow for connected engineer-

ing updates. Throughout the design phase of a new product,

single parts typically undergo several design changes or adjust-

ments, which then imply new feasibility tests. In support of

this recent trend, ESI offers PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5, a

rapid and comprehensive die face design software directly

integrated in the CATIA environment.

Our Sheet Metal Forming customers are now able to benefit

from a solution allowing continuous data flow throughout all

die engineering as well as maintenance of design iterations

within the Product Lifecycle Management, while delivering

rapid feasibility assessments through simulation.

editorialcontents

esi talk is issued bi-annually by ESI GroupExecutive Editor: Amy de RouvrayEditor-in-Chief: Elise Lavoue - [email protected] Group MarketingPARC D’AFFAIRES SILIC99 RUE DES SOLETS - BP 8011294513 Rungis Cedex - FRANCETel: +33 (0) 1 41 73 58 00 - Fax: +33 (0) 1 46 87 72 02www.esi-group.com - [email protected]: Agence TETRAKTYSISSN 1635 – 866XPrint: RIVET PRESSE EDITION24, rue Claude-Henri-Gorceix - 87022 LimogesDépôt légal: Mai 2010

All PAM- and SYS- product names as well as other products belonging to ESI’s portfolio are tradenames or trademarks of ESI Group, except specified proprietary mention. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.All text and images included in the articles are the copyright of the companies presenting their applications and simulation tasks.

Photo credits: Tower Automotive, Seat, J. Walter Miller Company, Europea Microfusioni Aerospaziali, Renault, Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Ford, Tecnalia-Labein, Letov, International Automotive Components, Piaggio Aero Industries, University of West Bohemia.

G/RO/10.58-A

04 special report • Rapid Die Face Design: a step towards End-to-End

Virtual Prototyping

07 success stories • J. Walter Miller Company selects QuikCAST to support its

technological transition to larger castings • Europea Microfusioni Aerospaziali optimizes nozzle guide vane

blades with casting simulation • Renault Mégane III scores 5 stars at EuroNCAP thanks to Virtual

Performance Solution • Dongfeng Motor Corporation draws on Virtual Performance

Solution to validate the Fengshen S30 • Ford uses PAM-CRASH for human modeling to advance

automotive safety research • Tecnalia-Labein uses PAM-STAMP 2G to design an industrial

hotformed part • IAC streamlines its automotive component simulation and

reporting process with Visual-Process • Letov develops two components in a single high quality part

with PAM-FORM

17 partner highlights • ESI is actively involved in the Research & Development of

composite materials • ESI sponsors the Student Formula SAE Racing Team Pilsen

19 product news • Virtual Performance Educational Package initiates students to

simulation • VA One v2009.0 includes advanced models of foam and fibers • Faster, optimized distortion and stress analyses with Visual-

WELD

21 corporate • VisualDSS features in Oracle Partners Innovation 2009

magazine • PROCESSWorks is recognized as ‘having educational value’ • Upcoming Expert Seminars • Save the date! • Users’ Conferences Worldwide on End-to-End Virtual

Prototyping • Financial news

Harald Porzner and Martin SkrikerudVirtual Manufacturing Product Line, ESI Group

esi talk4

Rapid Die Face Design: a step towards End-to-End Virtual Prototyping

What is PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5?PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 is a dedicated workbench inside the CATIA PLM context, providing a trade-oriented solution for rapid stamp-ing tool design directly within CATIA V5. Using this application, tool

PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 combines the convenience and speed of rapid die face design with the quality of the native CAD surfacing.

Traditionally, the die face design job was a time consuming trial-and-error task with a high risk of production delays. With the introduction of numerical simulation in the last few decades, these risks were sig-nificantly reduced along with the prototyping time. Nonetheless, the complexity of the job still meant that engineers were often creating a draft design of the tool on which feasibility studies could be performed. Once a feasible design had been reached based on the draft dies, the die face design had to be repeated to obtain a better quality to vali-date the design with simulation. Once validated, the final CAD-based

die face design could be produced. This process thus implied designing the same tool three times with different accuracy levels along with the uncertainty that the dies used for simulation might differ from the ones actually used for milling. In the end, this meant that the prototype could still offer some unpleasant surprises.

PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 offers a new approach, allowing engineers to create their entire die face design inside the CATIA PLM environment. The risk of encountering difficulties during the prototyping phase is thus considerably reduced thanks to a validation of the simulation based on the exact same tools used for milling.

s p e c i a l r e p o r t D I E F A C E D E S I G N

The new improved workflow based on PAM- DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 (bottom), clearly shows potential time savings.

designers implement tool design and process knowledge by following the natural tool face design process, thereby gaining in efficiency. This dedicated solution also provides guidance and support for part prepara-tion, binder development and die addendum.

Typical workflow using PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5; from part (1) over blankholder design (2) to addendum surfaces (3) and finally solid model export (4)3 421


What are the main market challenges?

“As many other areas, the die face design market has felt the impact of the economic crisis; thus reinforcing the urge to save time and money, without compromising on quality. During a die face design process, the design is often modified several times; although we still observe an increasing lack of automation as we go forward in the process – mean-ing a lot of manual re-work.

In fact, while the cost estimation and feasibility phases can largely be automated, the final die face design, where more details and higher sur-face accuracy need to be considered, cannot. The user is left with a generic CAD environment which does not contain dedicated function-alities and workflow for his/her job. In practice this means that die face designs are often created twice: once for prototyping, often in a CAE environment, and once for production, in a CAD environment.

Additionally, many CAE-based die face designs cannot be used for the final die milling, which implies a redesign in a CAD environment. When taking into account all of these above limitations and challenges, saving time and money are therefore not an easy task.”

What are the opportunities presented by PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5?

“PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 enables data transferability and consist-ency between the various stages of the die face design process by offer-ing surface quality and functionality required for each step. By avoiding time-consuming duplication of geometries, considerable time-saving can be achieved. Moreover, due to the fact that all phases in the die face design process can be supported in a fast and efficient manner,

there is no longer a need for a costly in-house die face design solution in a CAE environment.

Most of the die face design solutions currently available work with parametric 2D profiles. This is a very fast and efficient way to create the addendum geometry. However, when working on more complicat-ed geometries, it frequently fails to create the required geometry and either the user has to make a compromise, or he needs to model the die design (partially) in a CAD environment. PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 is very flexible: it is based on the 2D profile approach, but when specific geometries are required, all available CATIA V5 (surface) functionality can be used to create the shape required.”

What is the future and strategic importance of Virtual Manufacturing as a whole?

“The world is full of changes, with some of them, such as climate change, straining the manufacturing industry. Consequently, the industry con-tinually needs to come up with new ideas, manufacturing methods, and materials to meet the ever-changing requirements and expectations. ‘New’ entails test and validation before implementation. Testing new ideas is thus a common and regular task.

Virtual Manufacturing allows this ‘testing’ in a fast and efficient way – whilst saving resources. So before anything is built, Virtual Manufacturing is performed to select the right innovations.

The fundamental idea to create an integrated and synthetic environ-ment, to support Virtual Manufacturing, is now at an advanced stage with the offer of PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 for instance. The next step, already underway, is fully enabling End-to-End Virtual Prototyping throughout the entire chain from manufacturing to performance testing and to delivering the product.”

Mark Vrolijk

Die Face Design Product Manager

3 questions for…

F r o m p a r t d a t a . . . . . . t o F i n a l t o o l .

esi talk6

Tower Automotive do Brazil is part of Tower Automotive, one of the larg-

est independent global suppliers of automotive metal structural compo-

nents and assemblies. The company uses PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5

for speed and surface quality of the die face design performed in their

Technical Center.

“The software tool PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 gave us the opportunity

to perform all the steps of our work in a single environment during all

phases of the development process. This brought us more speed for

our cost estimation analysis, with precise blank sizing and formability

simulations. We are finally more competitive when we present an offer

to our clients, having strong arguments with a guaranteed quality.”

Vladimir B. Ferreira Jr.

Tech Center, Tower Automotive, Brazil

s p e c i a l r e p o r t

SEAT’s Prototype Center of Development (CPD), situated in the manufac-

turing plant of the Spanish automotive company in Martorell (Barcelona)

is considered one of the most innovative in the Spanish industry and is

emblematic within the Volkswagen Group. It gathers in a single location all

activities linked to the development of prototypes for virtual and physical

phases, from pre-serial vehicles to serial analyses.

“For SEAT’s Prototype Center of Development (CPD), the release of tools

integrated into CATIA V5 such as PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5, allows a

rapid and accurate development of die face design. It is very valuable to be

able to perform the appropriate geometrical changes and to have these

evolutions simultaneously available for machining within CATIA.

This represents a tremendous advantage in terms of productivity as well

as for the final quality of our design, giving us the opportunity to perform

our work in a common environment during all process phases.”

Javier Diaz Martinez,

Manager of the Prototype Center of Development (CPD), SEAT S.A.

PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 has been widely tested and proves to be a highly valuable tool for die face design.

sheet metal forming

Come meet the experts on Rapid Die Face Design with PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5

For registration & exact locations, please visit:

FREE

SEMINAR

rapid die Face design roadshow 2010 locations & dates:

Zamudio, Spain - May 27, 2010 Milan, Italy - June 10, 2010 Shanghai, China - July 2, 2010

Rungis, France - June 9, 2010 Erfurt, Germany - June 24, 2010 Seoul, Korea - July 6, 2010

Beijing, China - June 30, 2010

www.esi-group.com/die-design-roadshow


s u c c e s s s t o r i e s

J. Walter Miller Company selects QuikCAST to support its technological transition to larger castingsWith QuikCaSt, JWmC fully reconfigures its complex castings in 2 weeks instead of the 12 required

by conventional trial and error, and at minimal cost.

Historically, J. Walter miller Company (JWmC)

was specialized in small castings but has lately

been growing into larger sizes with the acqui-

sition of the diSa match 130, a match plate

molding machine. as a result, JWmC recently

undertook a profound technological evolution

from manual green sand squeeze molding to

fully automated molding machines where each

squeezer pattern needed to be converted to

run on the new equipment.

For a foundry producing non-leaded pump

components, impellers are a main challenge

because of the heavy and thin sections of

the casting. indeed, JWmC’s impeller castings

exhibited shrink porosity and voids in the hub

when machined at the customer’s facility; thus,

the riser at the hub area required redesign.

the initial design, prior to the use of QuikCaSt

software, led to the addition of a core in the

hub, to reduce the amount of liquid metal

required to feed the hub during solidification,

showing no defect after boring. However, a

new defect began to appear in the wear ring

section of the casting.

at this time, JWmC decided to explore the use

of QuikCaSt solidification software to deter-

mine the cause of this frustrating new defect

and was subsequently able to find a new design

configuration, eliminating the shrink during

machining. QuikCaSt thus enabled JWmC to

reduce the number of iterations required to

reconfigure patterns, reduce porosity in fin-

ished castings and explore opportunities for

yield improvement. in addition, JWmC’s cus-

tomer witnessed a dramatic reduction of scrap

in the machining process, which contributed to

large cost savings for both the customer and

JWmC.

A B O U T J . WA LT E R M I L L E R C O M PA N y

J. Walter Miller Company has been producing

brass and bronze castings for the fire protec-

tion, pumping and valve industries since 1887.

JWMC is a leader in casting no lead alloys and

helps its customers convert from leaded cast-

ings to no lead castings through a smooth tran-

sition thanks to its design services and pattern

shop.

www.jwaltermiller.com

for more information: www.esi-group.com/casting/quikcast

Left: original Shrink defect found in the heavy hub section of the casting

Right: Hub with no shrink cracks present

“ We selected QuikCaSt

because i t ha s the

most comprehensive

capabilities for simulating

brass and bronze alloys.

QuikCaSt i s a very

power fu l s imulat ion

tool.”Dan Rudolph,

Quality Engineer, J. Walter miller Company“this problem would have taken about 12 weeks

and $6,000 in pattern changes plus countless

hours of machine time to solve using conven-

tional trial and error methods. With QuikCaSt,

we can easily solve similar problems in 2 weeks

and produce a good pattern the first time. We

have used simulation on about 20 parts to date

and the simulation results are similar to what

we see in the shop,” said Dan Rudolph, Quality

Engineer at J. Walter miller Company.

Left: Closed riser and cored hub design – Shrink pocket shown in wear ring.

Right: Open riser, solid hub design – No shrink pocket in wear ring.

casting

esi talk8

Europea Microfusioni Aerospaziali optimizes nozzle guide vane blades with casting simulation


Using ESi software during the early stage of their design process, Ema saves time and money while

benefiting from yield improvement and better process control.

thanks to the development of dedicated tech-

niques over the last two decades, investment

casting modeling with ESi software has become

reliable and efficient to optimize safety com-

ponents such as turbine blades for jet engines.

the solution includes dedicated superalloy

material databases and ceramics characteriza-

tion allowing very accurate predictions.

Europea microfusioni aerospaziali (Ema) study

presented here refers to a stator type nozzle

Guide Vane (nGV) with three airfoils includ-

ing cores. ESi software was used to carry out a

design of Experiments (doE) with several inde-

pendent variables covering about 103 feasibility

hypotheses.

ESi software can be used within an automatic

optimization loop. indeed, ESi’s simulation tool

allows to perform a doE automatically after

defining an objective such as minimizing poros-

ity without going against defined constraints.

With this module, one can also perform design

robustness analysis in order to control the sta-

bility of the process.

these simulations led to the automatic run of

about thirty models, in batch mode (command

line programming) (Fig. 2).

Preheating phasethe preheating phase includes preliminary

heating of the shell before metal pouring. this

stage is important as it affects significantly the

final part integrity. preheating temperature

and heat transfer losses are fundamental, and

therefore undergo the doE parameter level.

the former is the temperature reached by the

shell at the end of the pre-heating cycle; the

latter is the elapsed time from when the shell

is taken out of the pre-heating furnace to the

start of the pouring phase.

Fig. 3 shows, in particular, the thermal field of

the shell with a sliced view of the critical areas

such as the leading Edge (lE), the trailing Edge

(tE), and the core.

Pouring phasethe pouring phase is the next important step

in the investment casting process. the veloc-

ity profile, pouring angle and pouring time will

influence the quality of the component (shrink-

age porosity, local grain size, etc.).

typically, in a modelled doE, it is important

to take into account the thermal and fluid

dynamics profiles, as well as the solid fraction

and thermal flow during pouring. the filling

phase is particularly important for equiaxed

components (grain formation) compared with

directional Solidified (dSX) ones. it is therefore

always subject to a doE study, at least for a

couple of the above-mentioned parameters.

“ When you have the right

tool in your hands, you

can easily get quick and

optimal solutions arising

from extremely complex

problems in superalloy

foundry. ESi software

does have the potential

to do this.”Ciro Caramiello PhD,

process modeling,Ema rolls-royce

Fig. 1: Solidification time

casting


Solidification phasethe study of the solidification phase concludes

the doE analysis. in general, the cooling rates,

the local solidification times, and the shrink-

age porosity prediction are analyzed. However,

advanced metallurgical analyses such as grain

structure or freckle prediction (SX) are also

possible and will determine more directly the

integrity and the specifications of the as-casted

part.

to conclude, the general aim of the doE analy-

sis is to achieve a pareto optimality, i.e. a con-

dition in which any change to a dependant

variable, such as porosity, is impossible without

adversely affecting the performance of anoth-

er variable, such as grain structure for instance.

to fulfill this, the two following conditions

must be met:

1) pareto optimal solutions must be identified

(e.g. maximizing performance only as regards

porosity),

2) the process must be stable (design

robustness).

modeling casting processes is a very complex

task in terms of testing domain: it may well

be regulated by over a hundred variables. the

advantage of using an optimization tool is

straightforward. the tool helps find the optimal

process parameters as well as evaluate the risk

of possible casting rejections due to random

fluctuations in the process.

A B O U T E U R O P E A M I C R O F U -S I O N I A E R O S PA z I A L I ( E M A )

Located in Italy, EMA is a world class invest-

ment casting foundry for the production of

components dedicated to civil and defense

aerospace, marine and energy industries. The

company is qualified to produce superalloys

components, using the equiaxed, directional

solidification and single crystal technologies.

EMA is owned by Rolls-Royce and thus has

inherited its know-how for developing and

refining innovative and industrially advanced

methods.

www.emaht.com

for more information: www.esi-group.com/casting

Fig. 2: Testing domain showing some parameters and their respective levels

Fig. 5: Temperature contours and fraction of solid

Fig. 3: Isotherms view just before the pouring starts

Fig. 4: Filling pattern temperature field

Fig. 6: Final shrinkage porosity prediction resulting in a sound part as critical porosity

remains in the risering system

esi talk10

Renault Mégane III scores 5 stars at EuroNCAP thanks to Virtual Performance Solution


the new renault mégane iii earned 5 stars, the highest possible rating with 37 points at EuronCap

vehicle safety test.

renault started using Virtual performance

Solution with pam-CraSH in 2001 for structural

crash simulation. over the past few years, several

renault car models such as the laguna iii and the

Scenic were validated by simulation with pam-

CraSH and obtained excellent results, earning

both of these five stars at EuronCap.

the new renault mégane (also known as mégane

iii), launched in november 2009 in Europe, with

a new design and enhanced key features, has fol-

lowed this trend for safety excellence. indeed, the

mégane iii was awarded five stars at EuronCap

crash test. the highest rating was granted for

frontal crash testing, partly thanks to prior simu-

lation results obtained with pam-CraSH.

before testing any physical prototypes. Virtual

performance tests with pam-CraSH spanned

Body-in-White modeling, structural crash

analysis, as well as spotweld modeling. these

also included safety simulation with ESi’s occu-

pant safety analysis application within Virtual

performance Solution, such as airbags release,

belt pretentioners and occupant behavior under

load cases.

one important challenge renault addressed

during the development phase of mégane iii

was the decrease of Co2 emissions. in order to

achieve this, they optimized the steel parts of

the Body-in-White to reduce the weight of the

car, thus decreasing the overall Co2 expense and

keeping the same standard of vehicle robustness.

another target was to reduce the number of

physical prototypes relative to the mégane ii,

thereby saving in development costs.

this high score for mégane iii is a turning point

for renault as they are the only automaker to

have ever earned eleven times five stars at the

EuronCap.

renault relied on virtual prototyping to vali-

date the design of the mégane iii car model,

Mégane III front crash simulation and EuroNCAP test

for more information: www.esi-group.com/virtual-performance-

solution

A B O U T R E N A U LT

Renault S.A. (Euronext: RNO) is a French auto-

maker producing cars, vans, buses, tractors,

and trucks. The strategic alliance with the

Japanese automaker Nissan in 1999, makes

Renault the world’s fourth largest automaker.

Established in 1898 by the Renault brothers, the

company is well-known for numerous revo-

lutionary designs, security technologies and

motor racing. Renault also owns the Romanian

automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean

automaker Renault Samsung Motors.

www.renault.com

“ pam-CraSH is a tailored

solution fully adapted

to renault’s problematic,

especia l ly dur ing the

deve lopment of the

mégane iii.”Eric Duguet,

CaE Body-in-White manager, renault Group

“Simulation is key to our project development

process,” said Eric Duguet, CaE Body-in-White

manager, renault Group. “pam-CraSH allows

us to identify not only the behavior of stand-

ard vehicle definition but also the probability to

improve our crash performance and to build vir-

tually every element that has an impact on our

decision-making.”

crash, impact & safety



as a new comer in the car construction market,

dongfeng motor Corporation (dFm) had to

quickly gain experience and at the same time

competitive advantage to penetrate success-

fully one of today’s most competitive markets.

they chose to implement Virtual prototyping

in order to reduce their time to market and

optimize their product development Cycle by

decreasing the total number of physical tests;

thus strongly cutting development costs.

Dongfeng Motor Corporation draws on Virtual Performance Solution to validate the Fengshen S30Virtual performance Solution allows the entire development process and validation of the Fengshen

S30 car model, the first passenger car designed and developed by dongfeng motor Corporation.


solution

A B O U T D O N G F E N G M O T O R C O R P O R AT I O N

Dongfeng Motor Corporation is one of the

three giant auto makers in China; including pas-

senger vehicles, commercial vehicles, engine,

auto parts & components, and equipment as

main businesses. With about a 14% share of

China’s automotive market in 2008, Dongfeng

Motor Corporation ranks respectively twenti-

eth in the Top 500 domestic enterprises and

fifth in the Top 500 domestic manufacturers

in China.

www.dfmc.com.cn


“ our analysis engineers love

pam-CraSH. it is becoming

the reference analysis tool

of the crash simulation

platform.”Dr. Chen Gan,

deputy Chief Engineer, dongfeng motor Corporation

dFm benefited from a single simulation model

to run all performance tests, thus avoiding

repeating work. While the side crash engineers

set up seat, airbag and dummy for side crash

testing and performed the side crash, another

team of engineers from a different speciality are

able to divide the basic model, load seat belt

anchors and improve the local model. through

strict job analysis, the Fengshen S30 solved

the defects early in the product development

Cycle, passed successfully and even surpassed

national forced regulations, and ensured the

development tasks were done favorably.

“We used Virtual performance Solution for a

number of crash and safety simulation analy-

ses with pam-CraSH to develop the dongfeng

Fengshen S30. We found and solved many

problems. pam-CraSH is a good crash and

safety simulation tool, which guarantees finish-

ing the design work in time. We are planning to

use it widely in new product developments,”

said Dr. Chen Gan, deputy Chief Engineer at

dongfeng motor Corporation.

Body-In-White simulation

Frontal crash simulation

to enable Virtual prototyping during the devel-

opment of the Fengshen S30, dFm validated

its virtual car model with Virtual performance

Solution before building a real physical pro-

totype to pass the high safety requirements

demanded by China’s national forced regula-

tions. pam-CraSH, crash simulation tool fea-

tured in Virtual performance Solution, was

widely used by engineers to analyze the com-

ponent structure strength as well as the entire

car strength and stiffness.

the occupant restraint system integration was

also tested virtually for safety using Virtual

performance Solution.

esi talk12

biomechanics

Defining impact injury criteriaFord motor Company uses pam-CraSH mostly

to perform impact biomechanics research.

Engineers set up model and related parameters

to measure the impact responses of the vehicle

and different parts of the occupant – including

brain, chest, thorax, abdomen and low extrem-

ity – during vehicle crashes.

the starting point of the project is brain injury

modeling, which is of high importance and

complexity in vehicle safety. then the rest of

the body is modeled.

it is essential that the model be as close as

possible to the real human, and that includ-

ing accurate model geometry and human-like

material properties.

Stress-strain analyses are performed on the

deformable model, as stresses/strains are the

physical parameters related to injury, recovery,

and growth of biological tissues.

injury criteria are then defined once the mech-

anisms of injury are known through the impact

simulations with the human body model.


A long-standing relationshipFord motor Company and ESi have had a long-

standing relationship since the early nineties. it

is then that Ford motor Company started using

pam-CraSH for advanced biomechanics simu-

lation in research and development, and they

still do today. pam-CraSH is ESi’s structural

crash analysis application software, included in

Virtual performance Solution.

the project started with human head injury

modeling in pam-CraSH and continued to

building the whole human body model. Ford

is one of the few carmakers developing human

body modeling techniques today. thanks to

these technologies, virtual human crash tests

can be realized. the virtual human models

are savvy alternatives to study the dynamic

responses of real humans during blunt impacts,

since using actual human subjects for physical

testing is undesirable, if not impossible.

Ford uses PAM-CRASH for human modeling to advance automotive safety research

Crash Simulation with Dummy Model Crash Simulation with Human Body Model

Human Head Injury Finite Element Model

for more information: www.esi-group.com/biomechanics

A B O U T F O R D M O T O R C O M PA N y

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive

industry leader based in Dearborn (MI, USA),

manufactures or distributes automobiles

across six continents. With about 200,000

employees and about 90 plants worldwide,

the company’s automotive brands include

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. The company pro-

vides financial services through Ford Motor

Credit Company.

www.ford.com

“ pam-CraSH is a tailored

s i m u l a t i o n t o o l fo r

a d v a n c i n g r e s e a r c h

i n b i o m e c h a n i c s i n

replacement of impact

tests with human body

models.”Dr. Jesse Ruan,

technical Specialist, Biomechanics and Human Body modeling,

Ford motor Company




Tecnalia-Labein uses PAM-STAMP 2G to design an industrial hotformed partHotforming simulation enables tecnalia-labein to notably reduce quenching times and direct cost,

better understand the process and obtain a robust design.

Hotforming involves the stamping and press hard-

ening of high temperature heated blanks with

active cooled tools, a complex process in which a

high number of physical phenomena occur simul-

taneously.

is it possible to use a fully coupled simulation

handling all these parameters? or is uncoupled

simulation still the best way for optimum proc-

ess design?

to find out, tecnalia-labein chose pam-Stamp

2G to simulate the hotforming of the central part

of an automotive B-pillar, geometry courtesy of

renault, where physical tests with a prototype

tooling manufactured by diede were used to

validate the methodology and results.

A B O U T T E C N A L I A - L A B E I N

Originally founded in 1955, Tecnalia-Labein is

the biggest technology center in Spain work-

ing mainly with businesses, which seeks to be

a natural ally of firms in the marketplace and

help them develop their innovation capabili-

ties using technology to provide a competitive

edge.

www.labein.es

for more information: www.esi-group.com/sheet-metal-forming

Thickness correlation

“ pam-Stamp 2G has

enabled a fast design of

the hotforming tooling,

and due to the high

level of accuracy of the

results, it has allowed the

validation of the tooling

and simulation results

with the experimental

tests.”Iñigo Aranguren /Marian Gutiérrez(automotive Unit, tecnalia-labein)

Simulation was first performed in terms of draw-

in shape and value, thinning, thickness, radius

runover, wrinkling, thermal distribution within the

blank, press force, and hardness. the results were

then confronted to experimental results, correlat-

ing accurately.

the next step was to determine the die behavior

and identify potential cooling improvements that

could be applied on the final tool design, by using

another general purpose Finite Element method

(FEm), in an uncoupled way. the optimization of

factors affecting heat transfer from the hot blank

to the cooling fluid within the tooling is essen-

tial to ensure completely quenched parts whilst

reducing cycle time, thermal stresses and tool

wear.

Using thermal simulations with the general pur-

pose FEm code, the final tool’s cooling channels

were redesigned to eliminate hot spots while

achieving a low and uniform temperature distri-

bution, ensuring proper quenching of the part,

following diede and renault specifications.Hotformed automotive B-Pillar

sheet metal forming

esi talk14


IAC streamlines its automotive component simulation and reporting process with Visual-Process

to 7.40 m. this process is normally undertaken

to cover the range of dummies (5th%, 50th%,

and 95th %).

the regulations state that all points in the

impact zone must meet the 80 g deceleration

requirements. the oEm or supplier must select

the number of representative points for simu-

lation that fall in the calculated head-impact

zone. For each impact point, the oEm or sup-

plier must determine the impact angle of the

head with that point. the regulations state the

angle should be determined by positioning a

line vertically at the seating reference point,

the rearmost normal position where the hip

contacts the seat and rotated down toward

the instrument panel until contact occurs. the

intersection of the perpendicular with the

panel assembly surface is the location of the

point of impact, and the direction of impact is

taken along the perpendicular.

The Manual Processin the past, to assess the performance of inte-

rior systems, iaC analysts had to perform a

lengthy manual process in a Cad system to cal-

culate the potential head-impact zone, define

impact points and approach angles, create

input data for crash simulation, and generate

a report from the simulation results. as part of

this process, they selected a series of points

in the impact zone and computed the impact

angle for each point. the analysts positioned

the head form at the impact point, assigned it

an initial velocity, created contacts between

the head form and ip, created input-output

control cards, exported lS-dYna input data,

read the lS-dYna result files, and created an

electronic report of the analysis results.

iaC’s engineers were dissatisfied with this proc-

ess because it tied up highly skilled analysts for

a considerable amount of time. in addition, it

often was a bottleneck in the delivery schedule.

Finding a Better Waythe analysts evaluated several possible solu-

tions for automating the manual process.

a number of vendors offered the ability to

develop automated workflow around different

Cad and simulation solutions. iaC’s engineers

decided that ESi offered a flexible solution that

enabled them to develop a script that auto-

matically determines the impact zones, selects

impact points, and calculates impact angles at

a studio released Cad level very early in the

product development cycle.

“ESi’s Visual-process solution made it possible

to automate the entire simulation setup and

reporting process,” said Arun Chickmenahalli,

Computer aided Engineering manager for

iaC. “this substantially increased the time-

by dE Editors | published February 24, 2010

as part of its operations, international

automotive Components (iaC) receives geo-

metric studio design surfaces for interior com-

ponents from automotive original equipment

manufacturers (oEms) in the form of a com-

puter-aided design (Cad) files. the company’s

engineers use this information to design parts

and meet federal crash test requirements. the

oEms are responsible for testing the systems to

ensure they comply with Federal motor Vehicle

Safety Standards (FmVSS) for instrument panels

(ips) and upper interior components.

Federal Safety StandardsFmVSS 201 states that when an area of the

instrument panel is hit by a 6.8 Kg, 165 mm

diameter head at 19 Km/hr, the deceleration

of the head should not exceed 80 g continu-

ously for more than 3 ms. FmVSS 201U pro-

vides a similar requirement for upper interior

components, such as the pillar trim, headliner,

and grab handle, but it is expressed in terms of

Head injury Criteria (HiC(d)) of less than 1000.

European ECE-21 and EEC 74/60 regulations are

similar, except they specify an impact speed of

24 Km/hr.

the oEm or supplier is responsible for identify-

ing the zone in which the passenger’s head may

contact the ip and upper interior components

(Fig. 1). FmVSS 201 defines the head-impact area

as the nonglazed surfaces of the interior that

are statically contactable by a 6.5-inch diam-

eter spherical head form, having a pivot point

to top-of-head adjustment ranging from 7.36

the automated workflow substantially reduces design and crash testing analysis time, increases

accuracy, and cuts engineering costs.

Fig. 1

simulation systems integration


savings that we were able to achieve in this

application.”

Developing an Automated SystemiaC worked with ESi to develop an automated

system for this process. the solution is based

on ESi’s VisualdSS (decision Support System),

which is designed to build and manage simu-

lation models for multiple domains, automate

processes and workflows, manage simulation

content and data, and support knowledge-

based decisions and automated reporting. the

environment captures and automatically exe-

cutes simulation processes, using wrappers for

popular simulation and Cad tools. templates

are defined, using the python scripting lan-

guage, and the task-execution sequences can

be described through a visual interface. the

templates library can be searched, using filters

and defined criteria for re-use in new projects.

another key component in the application

is ESi’s Visual-Crash dyna, which provides an

environment that enables both automated and

manual creation of lS-dYna models. Visual-

Crash dyna enables graphical creation of an

lS-dYna input deck, modification and dele-

tion of contacts, materials, constraints, control

cards, and crash entities. Visual-Crash dyna

modification tools help correct errors before

the model is submitted to the solver. Visual-

Crash dyna is incorporated in the automated

process, and analysts also use it to check and

tweak the input deck.

Script OperationiaC analysts defined the inputs and outputs

required to execute the sequence of codes to

automate the entire crash simulation set-up

and reporting process. ESi developed the appli-

cation’s core by using iaC’s expertise and best

practices. the actual process begins when the

user inputs data, such as the seating reference

point and the center of gravity of the head, and

reads the Cad data from dassault Systèmes

Catia, Siemens plm nX Cad software, or any

other suitable Cad format. the script auto-

matically scans the Cad file by moving the

head model as specified in FmVSS regulations

to identify the impact zones. the script selects

impact points based on criteria provided by the

analyst/oEms (Fig. 2). For example, one oEm

might specify that impact points be selected

every 100 mm, starting with the center of the

impact zone. the script computes the impact

angle for each point and positions the head

form at the impact point (Fig. 3). the initial

velocity is assigned to the head form as defined

in the regulation. the script then creates

lS-dYna contacts between the head form

and the instrument panel interior and among

the instrument panel interior components.

afterward, the script creates the lS-dYna

input-output control cards. an experienced

analyst reviews the input data and sometimes

makes changes, using the Visual-Crash dyna

environment.

For example, an analyst may move an impact

point, perhaps to a location on the ip, opposite

a bracket, which may be particularly sensitive

in terms of causing injury. the analyst directs

the script to export the lS-dYna input data

and submits it to the solver. When the solver

has completed its run, the script captures the

results. the analyst then runs the report-gener-

ation command. the script captures the results

and formats them as defined by a template cre-

ated by the analyst. the software can produce

reports in Html, pdF, and ppt formats.

The Benefits“the Visual-process script has substantially

improved our process to comply with FmVSS

201 regulations. Unlike other solutions that we

looked at, Visual-process was able to automate

the complete end-to-end head-impact simula-

tion process,” said Arun Chickmenahalli.

the time savings help iaC bring products to

market faster, reduce its engineering costs, and

enable its analysts to complete more projects.

the improvements in accuracy are impossible

to quantify at this time but are also substan-

tial. the definition of impact zones, selection

of impact points, calculation of impact angles,

and other aspects of the process are now per-

formed by an auditable process so the com-

pany has eliminated the risk of manual errors.

“ as a result , we have

been able to reduce by

four weeks the time

needed to complete

the simulation process

requ i red to comply

with regulations, while

increasing the accuracy

of the simulation.”Arun Chickmenahalli,

Computer aided Engineering manager, iaC

A B O U T I N T E R N AT I O N A L A U T O M O T I V E C O M P O N E N T S ( I A C )

IAC is a leading global supplier of instrument

and door panels, headliners, carpet and acous-

tic systems, cockpits, and fascias. Originally the

former interiors divisions of Lear and Collins &

Aikman, IAC has nearly a century of expertise,

dating back to the Ford Model T. The com-

pany has more than 80 manufacturing sites

and more than 90 total locations in 17 coun-

tries. IAC has more than 23,000 employees and

approximately $3.2 billion in sales worldwide.

www.iacna.com

for more information: www.esi-group.com/simulation-systems-inte-

gration

Fig. 2. The crash-test analysis calculates the head-impact zone.

Fig. 3. The automated analysis also calculates target points and approach angles

for head impacts.

esi talk16


LETOV develops two components in a single high quality part with PAM-FORMBy enabling the forming of an integrated shape in one shot, pam-Form helps lEtoV

reduce the weight of the part as well as the cost of production without impairing

its mechanical characteristics.

Simulation with pam-Form allowed lEtoV

engineers to design a theoretical virtual model

with the forming tool and blank shape they

determined to be best. the use of pam-Form

for the virtual prototyping of clips proved to

be a success and confirmed that the combina-

tion of experienced engineers and pam-Form

simulation tool can be very effective for prob-

lem solving in high performance composite

applications.

nowadays, the use of composite materials

has expanded in various areas of science and

technology due to their special properties.

thus, developers and manufacturers of com-

posite parts in order to remain competitive, are

urged to leverage their engineering expertise

to address the challenges of high performance

composites and increase the process and mate-

rial understanding for future applications.

one of lEtoV’s recent projects has been the

production of clips for a major aircraft construc-

tor. Clips are small joining parts in the fuselage

structure of an airplane made of two compo-

nents. they have chosen this project to try

out the development of an integrated part in

a single shot without impacting the mechanical

properties of the clip, using virtual prototyping

in order to lower production costs and weight.

to do so, lEtoV engineers used ESi compos-

ites forming simulation software pam-Form

to evaluate multiple strategies and determine

the right tooling and process parameters of the

integrated composites clip. as the clip’s shape is

quite complex, this would have required many

trials and considerable development time with-

out the use of a dedicated software tool.

pam-Form was also used for tool design opti-

mization where lEtoV engineers measured

the high temperature material property values

characterizing the forming behavior of the com-

posites part. the simulation displayed the fiber

orientation changes resulting from the shaping,

especially in the corners. the fiber orientation

induced by the forming process is critical for the

mechanical behavior of the final part.

composites & plastics

A B O U T L E T O V L E T E C K A V y R O B A LT D

The company was established in 1918 as the

first facility for aircraft manufacturing in the

Czech Republic, developing and manufac-

turing parts and subassemblies for civil and

military aircraft. Since 2000, LETOV LETECKA

VyROBA Ltd. is a subsidiary of the French com-

pany, GROUPE LATECOERE. The Composite

Production Center was created for manufac-

turing and also development of composite

parts for civil aircrafts.

www.letov.cz

for more information: www.esi-group.com/composites

Axial Strain on Fibers after forming

Prototype built based on PAM-FORM computations

“ pam-Form helped us

ach ieve our pro ject

goals: lower weight and

cost of production while

preserving the mechanical

properties of the part.

additionally, it provided

us with more information

o n o p t i m i z i n g o u r

p ro d u c t i o n p ro ce ss

which can be reapplied

to similar projects.”Josef K ena,

development manager lEtoV lEtECKa VYroBa ltd.,

GroUpE latECoErE


for lCm. involving eleven partners from 9 coun-

tries, the consortium had for main objective to

develop a new generation of bindered compos-

ite materials and associated simulation tools.

the preCarBi project took into account three

principal materials: new composite materials

for bindered carbon yarns, compatible resins,

and converted new binder yarn composites

into industrial preforms (Woven or non-crimp

Fabric).

ESi’s major contribution to the project has been

forming, infusion and mechanical analysis of

industrial aerospace applications manufacturing

with the liquid resin infusion (lri) technology,

using pam-QUiKForm and pam-rtm, simula-

tion solutions for thermoforming and manufac-

turing of plastics and composites.

this resulting research is considered an impor-

tant contribution for advanced liquid resin

today, advanced composites in the aerospace

industry mostly use either prepreg tape

laying, or resin infusion of dry textiles (liquid

Composite molding or lCm). Generally, prepreg

composites have superior stiffness, strength

and fatigue resistance due to toughened resins

and high fiber content. However, this type of

materials suffers from high costs, limited sha-

peability, complex, expensive and time-con-

suming manufacturing, and limited shelf life.

While lCm technologies can overcome these

drawbacks, lCm relies on low viscosity resins for

infusion and suffers from fiber misalignments

due to textile patterns, both leading to poorer

mechanical performance intolerable for many

structural aircraft applications.

this is why and where ESi initiated the European

Commission (EC) funded project – preCarBi -

three years ago to improve composite materials

accelerating its contribution to the research

& development of composite materials, ESi

GmbH coordinates the recently initiated 4-year

inFUComp European research Consortium.

the Consortium involves fourteen partners

and aims at providing an End-to-End Virtual

prototyping solution from pre-form design to

manufacturing (lri) specific to the manufacture

of large aerospace composite parts. Simulation

will minimize expensive and time-consuming

‘trial and error’ testing methods and help man-

ufacture high quality parts, faster and at lower

cost.

the inFUComp project will positively contrib-

ute to further the use of textile composites in

the aeronautic sector, lowering cost, improving

performance, increasing payloads and reducing

fuel emissions. although the planned research

focuses on aerospace applications, it is expect-

ed the results will be very relevant to other

industries.

“the inFUComp project is an essential part

of an integrated composites solution package

and will provide a unique opportunity to move

forward with composites simulation and to

develop new tools in collaboration with lead-

ing research and industrial aerospace partners,”

said Dr. Anthony Pickett, Scientific director at

ESi GmbH.

Coordinator: ESi GmbH

mergenthalerallee 15-21

65760 Eschborn - GErmanY

Phone: +49 (0)6196 9583 0

Fax: +49 (0) 6196 9583 111

E-mail: [email protected]

for more information: www.esi-group.com/composites

P180 AircraftCourtesy : Piaggio Aero Industries

The Research Consortium team included Airbus, Eurocopter, FACC, Toho Tenax Europe,

Sigmatex, Huntsman Advanced Materials (Swit-zerland) GmbH, ESI Group, Cranfield University,

IPM Latvia, University of Patras and SICOMP.

ESI is actively involved in the Research & Development of composite materials

p a r t n e r h i g h l i g h t s

infusion (lri) technologies to compete with

expensive and complex prepreg composite

technologies.

ESI GmbH successfully coordinates the PreCarBi project

ESI initiates the 4-year INFUCOMP consortium

composites & plastics

esi talk18

p a r t n e r h i g h l i g h t s

ESI sponsors the Student Formula SAE Racing Team Pilsen the University of West Bohemia succeeds in designing the front deformable part of a Formula-

style race car thanks to pam-CraSH and Visual-Environment.

the University of West Bohemia (UWB) in pilsen,

Czech republic, joined the student design com-

petition - Formula SaE® - organized by SaE

international (Society of automotive Engineers).

the concept behind the competition is the

development of a small Formula-style race car

for a fictional manufacturing company. Each stu-

dent team designs, builds and tests a prototype

based on a series of rules, which is to be evalu-

ated for its potential as a production item.

the UWB team is the first team in Czech

republic to successfully complete the project

by creating a prototype which meets the set

criteria. the UWB team obtained the support

of mECaS ESi for the Formula’s deformable ele-

ments‘ design, where simulation was needed.

A B O U T F O R M U L A S A E ®

Formula SAE® promotes careers and excellence

in engineering as it encompasses all aspects of

the automotive industry including research,

design, manufacturing, testing, developing,

marketing, management and finances. Formula

SAE takes students out of the classroom and

allows them to apply textbook theories to real

work experiences.

www.students.sae.org


solution

www.esi-group/simulation-systems-integra-

tion

www.uwbformula.czSimulation of the front deformable element with PAM-CRASH

Formula UWB Racing Team Pilsen



3 questions for Jiri Koldinský, UWB team leader:What are the main achievements of the team?

We consider the fabrication of the entire

Formula-style race car from the very beginning in

only 6 months as our major success. indeed, we

achieved this within a relatively small team, with

limited material support and minimum skills. our

goal was to participate in the Formula SaE italy

where students had the opportunity to show

their prototype; an objective that we reached.

How well did MECAS ESI support this project?

mECaS ESi provided the pam-CraSH and

Visual-Environment licenses free of charge to

the team, enabling us to efficiently design the

frontal deformable element. indeed, the front

part meets the safety requirements set in the

series of rules. this would have been difficult to

accomplish without mECaS ESi’s help. the com-

pany gave us also valuable advices throughout

the project in regards to virtual prototyping.

Do you wish to further cooperate with

MECAS ESI?

definitely! next year, we will have to design a

lighter deformable part, project in which we will

appreciate mECaS ESi’s help and cooperation.


Elements and materials modeling module

of the advanced materials mSc course at

Cranfield University. the students use the soft-

ware to reinforce their learning on explicit finite

element technologies, whilst investigating real

life impact problems. the tutorials provided

by ESi allow a very efficient introduction to

the pre- and post- processing tools”, declared

Dr. Alex Skordos, academic fellow at Cranfield

University in the UK. “the Virtual performance

Educational package is an extremely useful

teaching tool which ties very well with our

research activities”.

the Virtual performance Educational package

is free for students and teachers during the

first 6 months and is available for download at

www.esi-educational.com.

ESi is present in the academic community

through active collaborations on research

and development projects, and more recently

through educational programs. indeed, with the

release of a Virtual performance Educational

package, ESi makes its Virtual performance

Solution accessible to undergraduate and

masters students in a special version for Finite

Element simulation.

offering an easy-learning introduction to sim-

ulation basics, the package enables static and

modal analyses (implicit solver) as well as crash/

impact simulation (pam-CraSH explicit solver)

through self-learning tutorials based on auto-

motive and aerospace case studies.

“tutorials using pam-CraSH explicit finite ele-

ment code are an integral part of the Finite

VA One v2009.0 includes advanced models of foam and fibersporoelastic materials such as foams and fibers

are an important part of the design of quiet

products with superior noise and vibration per-

formance. the Va one 2009.0 release includes

improved functionality for modeling foams and

fibers at low frequencies using foam finite ele-

ments; and also at mid and high frequencies

including automatic calculation of treatment

coverage from Cad or FE data.

originally developed as part of a long term

research project between ESi Group and sev-

eral leading universities, this functionality is now

fully integrated within the Va one environment.

“modeling the vibro-acoustic response of

poroelastic materials is one of our core areas of

research”, said Pr. Noureddine Atalla, acoustic

department at the University of Sherbrooke.

“our ongoing collaboration with ESi Group on

the research, development and implementation

of these methods has proven to be fruitful as

shown in Va one latest release”.

“Va one version 2009.0 is the result of a long

term collaboration with our research partners

and provides our customers with state-of-the-

art methods for modeling poroelastic materials”,

said Dr. Phil Shorter, director of Vibro-acoustic

product operations, ESi Group. “the Va one

2010 release will also be available shortly and

includes a large number of enhancements

across all modules.”

for more information: www.esi-group.com/va-one

Virtual Performance Educational Package initiates students to simulation

Tutorial 5: Frontal crash of a simplified truck model

p r o d u c t n e w s

for more information: www.esi-group.com/educational

Modeling the low frequency response of a seat in VA One using

Biot foam finite elements


vibro-acoustics

esi talk20

p r o d u c t n e w s

Faster, optimized distortion and stress analyses with Visual-WELDESi’s Welding Simulation Suite, complement-

ed by Visual-WEld dedicated user interface,

offers today the full set of welding engineering

methodologies needed by designers, process

planners and manufacturing practitioners.

for more information: www.esi-group.com/welding

www.esi-group.com/visual-environment

Simplicity being the key, Visual-WEld allows faster and accurate distortion and weld qual-ity virtual engineering at any stage of product design and manufacturing. indeed, Visual-WEld helps reach a stress minimized welding assem-bly within tolerances at minimal cost, respect customer’ specifications and secure the production.

Knowing that the failure of even the sim-plest weld can cause the failure of the entire design, Visual-WEld helps control component weld quality in terms of temperature, micro-structure and residual stresses. Consequently, it enables engineers to avoid problems such as overheating in critical repair situations, stress corrosion cracking as well as crack initiation due to tensile stresses at the wrong place. Engineers are also able to produce uniform stress distribu-tion and uncover hot stress spots all over the design due to the welding fabrication proc-ess that would have a negative impact on the fatigue life.

Visual-WEld is also the latest simulation tool developed within ESi’s Visual-Environment, inte-

grated and collaborative software environment, encompassing the complete workflow for real-istic, physics-based Virtual prototyping. in fact, ESi has included all multi-physics involved in Welding Simulation within Visual-Environment latest release 6.0 to offer a fully industrialized collaborative software environment, including the following major components:

• Visual-Mesh, complete pre-processing mesh-ing tool which supports Cad import, 2d and 3d meshing and editing for linear and para-bolic meshes;

• Visual-WELD, dedicated workflow-based welding simulation interface that enables Single-pass and multi-pass Welding simula-tions. the complete workflow is represented with sequential and intuitive steps. the set up requires the minimum amount of input and allows engineers to be fully operational within a few hours.

• Visual-Viewer, post-processing tool with advanced plotting utilities. it allows the dis-play, synchronization and animation of several computed physical quantities at the same

time, and the comparison of result variants. it is easy and straightforward to identify and understand problems and thus take the nec-essary actions to improve the welded design or its fabrication.

“included in the latest version of Visual-Environment, Visual-Weld delivers a great com-bination of intuitive interface and simulation of the physics of materials in this domain. our customers are already excited about the possi-bilities this new Welding Simulation Suite brings to improve their welded products and weld-ing processes”, declared Dr. yannick Vincent, Welding product manager, ESi Group.

“ V i s u a l - W E l d w a s

d e s i g n e d w i t h t h e

objective of allowing

our customers to benefit

easily from more than 100

men-years of experience

in welding simulation.”Dr. Frederic Boitout,

Welding project manager, ESi Group Visual-WELD: Simplicity is the key


welding & heat treatment


c o r p o r a t e

VisualDSS features in Oracle Partners Innovation 2009 magazine

PROCESSWorks is recognized as ‘having educational value’Today’s students are tomorrow’s professionals!

this is why Computer-aided design (Cad) and

Computer-aided Engineering (CaE) providers

partner to provide students with the advanced

simulation tools they need for successful careers.

proCESSWorks, provided by CadWarE, first

SolidWorKS reseller for Education in the

World in 2009, is one of the best examples.

First software platform for the simulation of

pre-industrialization processes operating with

a unique user interface within SolidWorks,

proCESSWorks provides students with a multi-

domain solution for Cutting and Bending, Sheet

metal Forming, Forging, machining, Casting, and

plastic injection. indeed, the multi-domain plat-

form includes six different software from five

CadWarE partners, among which ESi’s Casting

and Sheet metal Forming software.

From a given part’s specification, the student has

the opportunity to use different simulation soft-

ware to study and validate the feasibility of that

part or its modifications involving other materi-

als or other procurement methods. Each simula-

tion software is very easy to use and contains

the essential business parameters ensuring the

student will obtain relevant results quickly.

VisualdSS is an open environment enabling the

building and management of simulation models

for multi-domain usage, the automation of

project workflow, and the management of

simulation content and data. With VisualdSS,

ESi delivers an advanced End-to-End decision

Support system to further leverage enter-

prise best practices and increase the value of

simulation.

ESi has empowered VisualdSS with oracle

latest technologies and product architecture to

further optimize simulation process and data

management. VisualdSS thus responds to the

market’s needs in simulation to enable numeri-

cal tests and to reduce the cost and time of

physical tests.

W h y i s V i s u a l D S S innovative?in a customer ecosystem consisting of hetero-

geneous applications and scattered simulation

data making the collaborative work of multi-

disciplinary teams difficult, VisualdSS brings

an effective answer thanks to centralized data

management. VisualdSS, with its manage-

ment of simulation data, facilitates sharing and

exploiting data spreading updates, as well as

pooling best practices. VisualdSS thus becomes

the “Knowledge Base of Calculation” inside the

company.

oracle database enables storing and manipulat-

ing data that ranges from product classification

attributes to models and voluminous simula-

tion results, and visual representations of key

results, efficiently and securely using a unique

technology.

for more information: www.oracle.com/fr

www.esi-group.com/alliances/partners

for more information: www.cadware.fr/education/processworks.htm

to help teachers who use multimedia educa-

tional tools, the French ministry of national

Education grants labels to software and mul-

timedia designs that meet the needs and

expectations of the educational system. as

proCESSWorks includes several documentary

and pedagogical resources which are accessible

in an easy and intuitive interface, the applica-

tion was awarded the label “recognized as

having educational value” (reconnu d’intérêt

pédagogique, rip) on February 3rd, 2010.

“proCESSWork’s labelling recognizes its quality

for educational purposes and is the result of a

successful collaborative work with our partners”,

said Jean-Luc Cottin, director, CadWarE.

esi talk22

June 30-July 1, 2010 INNOV’SAIL 20102nd international Conference on innovation in High performance Sailing Yachts organized by rina (royal institution of naval architects)

lorient, France

June 22, 2010 Vdot™ Seminarlean project and process management Seminar focusing on new methods for better planning, execution and management

El Segundo, California, USa

June 29-30, 2010 VA One Infodays learn about Va one simulation environment for Vibro-acoustic analysis and design dresden and munich, Germany

Sept 14, 2010 2010 ESI CFD Users’ Conferencetechnical exchange between CFd-aCE+ users, as well as a chance to preview upcoming technical advancements

Santa Clara, California, USa

Sept 8-9, 2010 NAFEMS Virtual Conference 2010 2020 Vision of Engineering analysis and Simulation hosted by ESi north america online

oct 4-5, 2010 Composites Expert Seminar

Expert Course on Composites modeling to understand how multi-domain simulation can contribute to the advanced composites parts development

Bordeaux, France

oct 5-7, 2010 Hotforming Expert Seminar Expert Course on press Hardening processes in collaboration with ap&t rome, italy

oct 20-22, 2010 IDMME - Virtual Concept 2010 9th international Conference on integrated, interactive and Virtual product Engineering talence, France

oct 26-28, 2010 Texcomp 10 10th international Conference on textile Composites lille, France

nov 16-17, 2010 VDI SIMVEC 2010 15th international Congress & Exhibition for Calculation and Simulation in automotive Baden, Germany

nov 18-19, 2010 ESI Japan Users Forum 2010 ESi’s 21st Japanese Users Conference and Exhibition on Virtual prototyping tokyo, Japan

Save the date!

Upcoming Expert SeminarsThanks to a team of carefully selected international experts and intimate setting of the course, engineers and scientists learn to overcome industrial

challenges and acquire best practices in the discipline chosen.

Contact: [email protected] / +49 (0)6196 9583 178

c o r p o r a t e

Hotforming Expert Seminar

Meet the industry’s top experts in hotforming

When?Nov 2010, dates to be announced...

Where?Rome, Italy

find out more: www.esi-group.com/hotforming-expert-seminar

Composites Expert Seminar

Discover latest advancements in composites modeling

When?Oct 4-5, 2010

Where?Bordeaux, France

find out more: www.esi-group.com/composites-expert-seminar

Confirmed speakers:• prof. Christophe Binetruy,

EnStim – doUai, France

• prof. philippe Boisse, inSa lyon, France

• dr. argiris Kamoulakos, ESi, France

• prof. Stepan lomov, Katholieke Universiteit leuven, Belgium

• mr. Serge mouton, Université Bordeaux 1 – lmp, France

• dr. anthony pickett, ESi, Germany

• mr. Jérôme raynal, ppE, France

• dr. alex Skordos, Cranfield University, UK

• dr. magnus Svanberg, Swerea SiComp Sa, Sweden


Users’ Conferences Worldwide on End-to-End Virtual Prototyping

Financial news

ESi Global Forum 2010, the first global users con-

ference on Virtual prototyping which took place

on may 19-20, 2010 in munich, Germany, offered

the opportunity to witness some of the ambitious

new projects undertaken by ESi customers worldwide showcasing the grow-

ing importance of End-to-End Virtual prototyping and its already significant

benefits. designers, engineers, analysts and managers of customer and part-

ner companies from around the world and from various industries convened

to listen to over 100 presentations on End-to-End Virtual prototyping present

and future, and prepare for it collaboratively, dynamically and efficiently.

End-to-End Virtual prototyping anticipates the surprises coming from tests

made on real (hardware) prototypes by virtually fabricating, building and test-

ing the product in coherent progressive stages: part by part, component

per component and concurrently across multiple domains. a good Virtual

prototype enables at each step of the development cycle to test the per-

formance, margins and robustness on the virtual model under assessment, in

order to evaluate and correct, if needed, some critical aspects of the product

design or fabrication. its foundation is Virtual manufacturing, which relies

on a sharp knowledge of the physics of materials during manufacturing and

assembly processes to define in a realistic way the “as built” product.

End-to-End Virtual Prototyping enables product development teams to

produce concurrently quality results: accurate, for the right cost and at the

right time with impressive benefits.

ESi Global Forum was followed by ESi China Forum 2010, which took place

on may 27-28, 2010 in Beijing, China.

ESi’s next users conferences and exhibitions on Virtual prototyping will take

place on november 16, 2010 in Seoul, Korea and on november 18-19, 2010 in

tokyo, Japan.

2009/2010 annual Sales

Good growth over the yearESi Group’s annual total sales totalled 75.1 million euros, up +7.1% in actual

terms compared to the previous year.

Licensing: Improvement in the high rate of repeat business license Sales reached 54.1 million euros, up +2.9% in actual terms. the

installed base was up +6.4% on the previous year, with the rate of repeat

business reaching 85% in 2009/10 versus 77% in 2008/09 and new Business

falling by a moderate -7%.

Services: Confirming the successful integra-tion of Mindware Service Sales came to 21.0 millions euros, an increase of +19.5% in actual

terms. in particular, mindware, a company consolidated in ESi’s books since

mid-december 2008, has reaffirmed its growth potential and its success-

ful integration within the Group, recording again a double-digit growth in

activity in 2009, with sales totalling 5.2 million euros.

Revenue breakdown per areaa more balanced breakdown in regards to the geographical split in activity

– 22% of sales for americas, 45% for Europe and 33% for asia – confirms

ESi Group’s international presence, credibility and appeal.

“ESi’s overall performance highlights two major lessons. Firstly, it provides

confirmation of our business model solidity, based on the annual rental

of our licenses and benefiting from a high level of repeat business, which

generates an enviable visibility in the current economic context. Secondly,

it indicates the endurance of our activity, which reflects the high value

proposition of our ‘Virtual prototyping Solutions’ sources of strategic

advantages increasingly sought-after in the current competitive environ-

ment. this performance was achieved whilst keeping costs under control

and our teams on board. these factors give us confidence in the continu-

ity of our growth and profitability amplified by the gains of our business

sectors diversification,” concluded Alain de Rouvray, ESi Group’s Chairman

and CEo.

c o r p o r a t e

ESI WORLDWIDE

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nEtHErlandSpaKiStanpoland portUGalromaniarUSSiaSloVaK rEpUBliCSloVEniaSoUtH KorEa SoUtH aFriCaSpainSWEdEnSWitZErlandtaiWantHailandtUniSiatUrKEYUnitEd KinGdomUnitEd StatESVEnEZUElaViEtnam

ESI HEADQUARTERS

100-102 avenue de Suffren 75015 paris - Francephone: +33 (0)1 53 65 14 14Fax: +33 (0)1 53 65 14 12

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esi talk 39

Documents

virtual manufacturing

design changes

design phase

manufacturing effects

manufacturing history

entire manufacturing

computeraided design

new product