#Free cad program for designing cars software

JL Racing Simulating and ModelingДЇigure 3. And so, the CD player fittings were redesigned to allow for such warpage.Д«etter to redesign a part early on than to issue a product recall after it hits the market!ДЄnd thanks to third-party plug-ins, these design bugs can be identified easily and addressed before they turn into major and costly headaches. The tolerances were found to be too small to accommodate disk warpage, which would have resulted in disks jamming.

#Free cad program for designing cars software

To evaluate quality, engineers at Ford run thousandsof what-if scenarios at a time, tweaking dimensions, tolerances and variations at will.ДЇor example, on one occasion, FordвЂ™s engineers were assessing the tolerances within a CD player, and they set the tolerance software to run a scenario involving a warped optical disk.

But with software such as SigmundWorks, why stop at merely measuring twice? Measure twice, cut once, as the old phrase goes. Once the functional intent and build objectives of a design have been verified with the software, tooling can be released. With SigmundWorks, Sigmund ABA and SOLIDWORKS, engineers at Ford are able to check new designs from global suppliers and staff engineers for in-car entertainment systems, including DVDs, CDs and radios. To perform the tolerance and assembly build analysis on components and assemblies, Ford uses VaratechвЂ™s SigmundWorks software, a Certified Gold Product for SOLIDWORKS, which means it is completely compatible in that CAD environment. (Image courtesy of Ford Motor Company.)ДЇord Motor Car company understands this and has employed third-party software plug-ins to help keep track of tolerances. It is estimated that up to half of scrap and rework can be attributed to poor tolerance and variation management.ДЇigure 2. Tolerance is fundamental not only to the functioning of automotive components, but can also cost big bucks in the manufacturing stage if it is not managed correctly.

The combination of these features has allowed APS to cut design cycles by 50 percent and decrease assembly time by 40 percent, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in development costs. вЂњIntegrated simulation tools in SOLIDWORKS Premium also enable us to conduct the structural checks, such as natural frequency and fatigue analyses, that minimize prototype iterations,вЂќ Explained Viduka.

вЂњWe can leverage the dynamic motion, interference detection and FEA analysis tools of SOLIDWORKS Premium software to increase the assembly accuracy and meet our performance targets for both components and assemblies. In addition, APS has made the most of the simulation environments in the software. вЂњUsing the Hole Wizard in SOLIDWORKS, we donвЂ™t have to spend time measuring and indexing holes to space rivets and attachment points, as the software accurately enables tolerancing checks and uniform spacing of hole locations.вЂќ вЂњFor example, our chassis are hand built and riveted together,вЂќ Viduka noted. To bring its GT40s into the 21st century, APS has utilized a variety of design tools, including SOLIDWORKS. вЂњOur customers get the performance of a modern underbody-including the drivetrain and suspension-combined with the classic period interior and exterior components that they love.вЂќ вЂњUnlike other replica or antique car companies, our approach is to design and build an entirely new version of the GT40 without disrupting the classic body shape,вЂќ said Ivan Viduka, APS business development manager. The original GT40s are very rare and worth their weight in gold, so youвЂ™re unlikely to own one, but the good news is that there is a company in Australia that builds replicas of the models, which have been optimized for the 21st century, with 21st-century design tools.ДЄutomotive Performance Solutions (APS) was founded in 2004 to provide engineering support and solutions to the GT40 owner market and has expanded to designing and building its own replica cars.