A group of companies developed a front frame for a Volkswagen Caddy youngtimer during the 3i-PRINT project. The metal front frame was developed using simulation software and printed using a 3D printer. The end result is not only lighter and sturdier than the original, but also includes functionalities for cooling the engine. Theo Verbruggen, Senior Sales Director at Altair, explains how this simulation-based development process worked and its advantages.
The project in an initiative of German csi entwicklungstechnik, a company that focuses on optimising designs. APWORKS, Altair, Heraeus and GERG are also involved in the project. The parts of the frame were designed and simulated using software from Altair. APWORKS then printed the parts using an EOS M 400 Powder Bed Fusion printer in APWORKS' custom-developed material Scalmalloy, an alloy of aluminium, magnesium and scandium. The material was supplied by Heraeus. GERG was responsible for the assembly of the printed parts.
Making possibilities transparent
With the 3i-PRINT project, the parties involved aim to shed light on the possibilities of both simulations and industrial 3D printing for the automotive industry. "The 3i-PRINT project is a project in which, together with a number of partners, we are demonstrating the possibilities offered by the current state-of-the-art technology. The project focuses on both integrated design, simulation and 3D printing of products and design of materials that can be used for this purpose," explains Theo Verbruggen, Sales Director Benelux at Altair. "The project demonstrates how design and simulation software and 3D printers can be used to go from an idea to a fully functional prototype within nine months."
"The front frame developed within the project is not only lighter and stronger than the original, but also contains several integrated functionalities for which other car parts are usually used. For example, the frame contains hollow structures through which the vehicle's coolant flows. These hollow spaces include optimised strengthening ribs, internal 'lattice' structures and external cooling fins to dissipate excess heat from the engine. As a result, the design eliminates the need for a radiator system including fan, supply and return pipes and water pump," Verbruggen said. "The frame also integrates reservoirs for brake, windscreen wiper and power steering fluid, among others."
Saving space and weight
Verbruggen points out that such an integrated design not only saves space under the bonnet, but also saves weight. "Because various functionalities are integrated into the frame, all kinds of other systems have become redundant. This makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly what weight savings the design brings. After all, the new front frame has to be compared not only with a traditional front frame, but also with all the other systems it replaces." Verbruggen speaks of a "significant weight saving".
Simulation software played an important role in the design of the front frame. "The front frame was developed using Altair's HyperWorks software. This software contains a range of design and simulation tools, including software to analyse and optimise strength, weight, durability, production of both noise and vibration, and response to shock. In addition, the software allows the simulation of dynamic loads on a component to test the behaviour of a front frame during a crash, among other things," Verbruggen said. "Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to simulate air and fluid flows in the frame, which has played an important role in designing the integrated cooling system in the frame, among other things."
From idea to prototype in nine months
"It is often a challenge to combine the results of different simulations into a final product that contains all the desired properties. After all, as soon as you make changes to a design based on the results of one simulation, it impacts the performance of the design in other simulations. To streamline this process, Altair has integrated its simulation tools into a single software suite. This allows for faster optimisation of a design and a better overview of the impact of design changes. This integration helped go from idea to prototype in nine months."
The frame was produced using a 3D printer. "We could have chosen another production technology like casting, but this would have presented some important limitations compared to 3D printing. For example, the use of additive manufacturing allowed us to produce internal structures that save weight. This weight saving is due to the use of 'lattice' structures to give additional strength to the frame in some areas, allowing for thinner walls and therefore a lighter final product. We could not have created this kind of detail using any other manufacturing technology."
Prototype quickly in hands
Additive manufacturing, incidentally, is a relatively expensive production technology and therefore not suitable for mass production in all cases. "It is also possible to develop and optimise a prototype for a particular production technology, and then 3D print this prototype. This offers the advantage that the prototype can be produced quickly and on site, allowing the development team to get their hands on the prototype and physically test it faster. In this way, time savings can be realised and the final product can be developed in a shorter time."
The project also shows another interesting possibility of 3D printing: custom design of materials for specific applications. "Developing and optimising materials for specific applications is a new field made possible by 3D printing," explains Verbruggen. "The front frame developed within the 3i-PRINT project was printed in Scalmalloy, a material custom-designed by APWORKS for the front frame. The material consists of a combination of aluminium, magnesium and scandium and has been optimised to achieve certain properties, including weight, strength and flexibility. Scalmalloy comes close to titanium in terms of strength and stiffness, while the material is heading towards aluminium in terms of weight. With other manufacturing technologies, you are usually limited to the materials available for this purpose and it is not possible to develop a material optimised for a specific application."
More information about the 3i-PRINT project can be found on the project website.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Altair
Source: 3i-PRINT project
Source photo: csi entwicklungstechnik
