Abstract
Continued success in the transportation equipment market is the responsibility of individual corporate industrial designers and engineers who must continually understand trends and issues in the vastly multi-faceted industry, and rapidly create high quality, safe products to meet customer demands. A multitude of economic and competitive pressures face the industry today, and to surmount these pressures designers and engineers need the right tools to develop innovative designs productively and cost effectively. Increasingly, they are finding that digital prototyping tools provide an answer to these needs. In this presentation, Ed Martin, Senior Manager for Autodesk’s Automotive and Transportation business, will examine design and engineering trends in this field and cite case study examples of why the rapid design and production process afforded by digital prototyping now enables transportation companies to design and manufacture at “the speed of thought.” He will illustrate how digital prototyping can help in the creation of a single digital model that can be used in every stage of development, bridging the gaps that usually exist between conceptual design, engineering, mechanical design, electrical controls design, and manufacturing teams. Among the case studies that he will cite: How Autoliv uses digital prototyping to improve the manufacturing engineering process, resulting in an improved workflow and better collaboration with suppliers. How EDAG employs digital prototyping to efficiently develop Class A (Strak) models for vehicle interiors and exteriors directly from vehicle concept models. How ADEPT Airmotive used digital prototyping to develop a 320 horsepower general aviation engine that weighs approximately 28 percent less than a traditional piston engine of comparable horsepower and provides a fuel savings of approximately 30 percent. How Viking Yachts uses digital prototyping to improve the entire business process for motor yacht design, manufacturing, marketing, and customer service. Mr. Martin will also discuss trends that are shaping the way that transportation equipment is designed, manufactured, and marketed in today's global economy, with special focus on: Going global - established global companies are increasing the amount of design and development work that is performed outside of their traditional bases. Looking good - to remain relevant in an increasingly crowded marketplace, companies need to produce products that appeal to the end customer. Lean gets leaner - increasingly, successful companies are adopting strategies to simultaneously improve flexibility, reduce errors, and speed time to market in manufacturing. KEYWORDS digital prototyping, workflow, lean manufacturing, competitiveness