Report on Automotive Life Cycle in context of Product Design

AIM:

The Aim of this report is to study the Overview of Automotive Life cycle. This report mainly prioritizes on the Product designer involvement from concept phase to mass production.

DESCRIPTION:

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

1) PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The 10 stages of Product Life Cycle in Automotive industry are

1. Concept Sketching
2. Styling Class -A
3. Feasibility Check
4. Concept Validation
5. New Product Design
6. Development Stage
7. Prototype Build
8. Design Validation
9. Pilot Production
10. Mass Production

CONCEPT SKETCHING

• The purpose of concept sketching in engineering domain is to provide communication at early stages of the design which is a collection of visual cues sufficient to suggest the design to an informed observer.
• Free hand sketching is typically used with often a considerable number of iterations which generates visual thinking through series of sketches.

STYLING CLASS-A

• In this phase the initial concept sketch is validated for design aestheticism and CLASS A Skin is developed through software such as Alias. In this phase the initial 2D SKETCHES From Concept design get transformed in to 3D using Design Software such as Autodesk Alias.
• A Clay model will be developed based on the inputs and Finally the model is scanned and fed to the CAD Engineers to develop the for the next stage.

FEASIBILTY CHECK

• This phase kick starts the design engineering process and the received Class A surface is validated for further stages of production feasibility.
• In this phase, Feasibility study involves CARRY OVER Designs for some parts from previous models and can be used in the new models.
• In this way lead time is improved and also the functional and aesthetic traits are carefully validated
• This is the stage that does the market study of various components and also incorporates the feedback from the customers and stakeholders and updates that to the downstream processes.
• Instance: If there is an feedback from the customer about lack of space to keep wallet and phone in the center console for a car then that will be validated and new concept is developed to create bin in the console and it will passed on to the downstream processes to ensure it is attainable.

CONCEPT VALIDATION

In this phase Initial Concept Validation of perceived model is done . This is where all the design rules were validated and various studies such as Visibility Check, Safety Check from drivers perspective were studied and all parts are started building around it

For Instance Interior Trims in Nissan Passenger Model division at R&D Bangalore does Meter Visibility study to check the driver’s vision range and carefully devise the mandatory information and tachometer reading within the visible range of the rider. All the research carried out were used to prepare a master section that will be used to develop different parts involved in the Interior Design such as IP, Infotainment systems, Steering Column.

MASTER SECTION is formed at the end of initial concept validation which will processed for further downstream.

NEW PRODUCT DESIGN

The major work of product designer starts from this phase. After the Concept validation stage the designer starts developing CAD sketches of every component in the car.

The main objective of the product designer is to incorporate all the inputs from the previous stages and ensure it is 100% manufacturable in the upcoming stages.

Then the role of designer is to do all the design work within the specified rules and design engineering standards of the organization

DEVELOPMENT

This stage forms as the bridge between the Design team and Manufacturing Team. The role of Development team is to collaborate with manufacturers to ensure the design is feasible to manufacture and feasible to assemble

They work with the tool makers, Mold and fixtures and also with various outsourced vendors and stakeholders to kick start the manufacturing of the designed part

PROTO BUILD

The next stage is to do proto-build of the designed part. A complete prototype is built to study the feasibility of the manufacturing process and materials used in the components

DESIGN VALIDATION

The Design validation stage inspect about any failures in the prototype like Plastic deformation or Dimensional instability and thy rectify the process and materials. This is the phase where further design modifications are froze and only minor changes are allowed.

PILOT PRODUCTION

The main role of the pilot production is to devise the lead time and manufacturing processes of various components and any defects in the Production line will be identified and an assembly line is devised with different stations.

MASS PRODUCTION
after ensuring all the above stages the Production of the components will be made live to Mass Production

These are the stages of an Automotive Life Cycle

3) AUTOMOTIVE DESIGNER INVOLVEMENT

The three stages where the automotive designer involvement is needed are

• Feasibility Check
• Concept Validation
• New Product Design

4) The Autodesk Alias is the software used by majority OEM to develop the Class A surfaces

5) FEASIBILTY CHECK

• Feasibility Check validates all the concept sketches and collaborate with Concept Validation and NPD to make the product feasible to manufacture
• This is the stage were carryover activities are done from the previous car versions to reduce the lead time and also this is the stage where all Feedback and market studies involved from customer are incorporated to the automotive life cycle.
• For an instance if there is feedback about an arm rest console about the lack of width for bottle holders. Those will be added to this newer version and it is the role of the feasibility check to inform the NPD team to make it corrected. Thus NPD team will look in to ways to make the product changes and creates it to be doable by the manufacturing team
• Thus Feasibility check ensures that the aesthetic and functional traits, as well as the manufacturability of interior and exterior surfaces, are achieved early in the lifecycle, and all of this must be achieved at the lowest possible cost.

6) DESIGN LIFE CYCLE
The Stages of Design Life Cycle are

Concept Sketches

CLASS A Creation

Clay Modeling

NPD CAD

Concept sketches are rough idea of free hand sketch obtained through styling team and will be used to prepare the Model

It is usually done through pen and paper and through some of the painting sofwares. This is will be used to generate the concept for preparing the model by incorporating various styles and information obtained through the stakeholders

The below image shows Free hand sketch of AUDI

CLASS A SURFACE

The Next Design Life Cycle is to create Class A skin out of concept sketches. This is done through 3D software and this embarks the head start of 3D design phase of the automotive components to be created by further design and manufacturing teams

CLAY MODELLING

The Class A Surfaces are validated through Clay modelling and this gives the real visual representation of components that will be used to create input for the CAD Engineers to create 3D Sketches of automotive componenets

Clay Models are chiseled by hand to get the realistic experience by leading OEM and some of the interior components are done through machines.

The role of this stage is to create model as per the concept sketch and scan using photometry to create 3D CAD model.

NPD DESIGN

The final stage of the design cycle is performed by the CAD Engineers who starts modeling the parts in the softwares with the design guidelines and ensures the functionality and feasibility of manufacturing and assembly. If the part violates or not possible to manufacture then suitable alternatives are worked out with by collaborating with the upstream and downstream processing teams.

7) CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

It is the process of working on the project simultaneously by different teams rather than working independently which will reduces the product development team.

This integrated product development approach reduces redesigns, especially those resulting from post-design input from support groups. By involving these groups in the initial design, less iteration will be needed. The major iterations that do occur will occur before the design becomes final. The overall time taken to design and manufacture a new product can be substantially reduced if the two activities are carried out together rather than in series. The reductions in design cycle time that result from Concurrent Engineering invariably reduce total product cost.

Thus it becomes a valuable approach in Automotive Life Cycle

8) CLAY MODELLING

The Clay model are built out of Class A Surfaces done through Free Form Surface Design Software, which is a process of industrial plasticizing that allows to sculpture the model by hand and brings life to the car at early automotive design cycle

Thus Clay modeling brings the best to see the proportion and details of the car at the early stages of the life cycle.

This is one of the major advantages of clay modeling which communicates the intended project a visual and realistic feel which a sketch or CAD model can’t do

It is also forms to be a great collaborative tool where different engineers can work on the model and brainstorm the ideas in three dimensional way.

It also matures the design process and reduces the rework and changes needed in further design phase and overall improves the quality of planned model

Examples Images of Clay modeling work are given below

The above image shows the Land Rover's Discovery Sport Clay Model done in the Company's Glaydon Design studio

Computer-guided milling machines at Nissan's design Centre in Atsugi, Japan.

9) FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT and FUNCTIONAL RELIABILITY

The main stages of Functional Requirement are

• Design Intent
• Environment Consideration
• Material Thickness

For Instance let’s say the OEM wants to Shades holder as part in the car interior to keep Glasses. This becomes the design intent and when working on the design the part has to fit the purpose. The Environment Considerations are the factors required to place that part in the interior. For Example Car Inboard, Car Forward and Z position of the part in the interior and various considerations are taken into account. Finally the desired material thickness and selection of materials were done and the developed product is manufactured along with other functional feature.

Thus whenever a purpose of design arises after-market study and concept validation design and analysis of the parts are done to incorporate into the existing master sections

FUNCTIONAL RELIABILTY

The factors considered are

• purpose
• strength
• resistance

For the above mentioned example the purpose of designing Sun shade holder needs to functional and also it should not hinder the other functional components. The possible defect occurrence will be validated and incorporated in the design to reduce rework and improve quality. The strength factors are how it will be fitted in the car console like clips and snaps will be considered. The best approach used in these Design are DFMEA Method (Design for Failure Mode Effect Analysis) which identifies the Failure Effective modes of the components and tries to reduce beforehand in the design stages.

Shade holder in Maruti Suzuki S Cross version

10) Design for Manufacturing and Design for Assembly (DFM &DFA)

Design for Manufacturing is the feasibility study to design a component that can be manufactured in best possible way. The factors considered will be the

Minimal Wall Thickness: For a plastic component the desired thickness will be 2.5mm anything above that will add as waste in mass production and increases the overall cost of the component

Draft Angle: For Instance if there is a plastic component to be manufactured in Injection molding so the designer should validate the draft analysis of the part with respect to to tooling axis or else wearing will occur in the manufacturing

Least Side Core: The parts involving holes in the side of the component will add to additional core and cavity design and like side core hence these consideration will be evaluated

Design for Assembly is the feasibility study to reduce the interference of different mating parts while assembly

The Fixations and conformance with the assembly of any other part will also be considered

11) ECONOMIC FACTORS

Adhering to Functional Requirement, Reliability, DFM, DFA will reduce the cost of the part and improves the effectiveness. Hence these factors are carefully considered in design stages to avoid quality issues and rework.

Serviceability is also an important factor to be considered.

The Life cycle of the automotive not just ends with the production or sale with customer. It runs till the life of the automobile on road. After-Sales Team holds high priority in providing serviceability to the automotive.

Thus frequent parts that are to be replaced in different service cycle should be easily accessible for the service engineers.

There will also be guidelines and procedure drawing made out to service engineers about the serviceability of various parts and how to detect life cycle of the components

The final economic consideration is Recyclability. There is a law in EU legislative that automakers are responsible for the recycling of car and components after its end of life and also the parts used has to be 90% Recyclable.

12) FREE HAND SKETCH

A Free hand sketch of Porsche done through form lines, perspective

CONCLUSION:

This concludes the overview of automotive industry from designer’s point of view and design life cycle involved in automotive industry. A freehand sketch is also done to improve the sketching used in the concept phase.