How 3D CAD is transforming the commercial automotive industry
It isn’t all crankshafts, engine blocks and muscle when it comes to trucks. There’s some incredibly sophisticated design and engineering taking place in the commercial automotive industry. 3D CAD is making it easier for businesses to drive innovation, value and longevity.
Greasing the wheels…
When logistics, transport or construction vehicles break down, entire businesses can grind to an infuriating halt, so it’s vital that vehicles operate robustly and reliably.
From tiny electric circuits to huge hydraulic tipping hoists, here’s how 3D CAD is boosting the value, lifespan and usability of commercial automotive vehicles.
SOLIDWORKS to the rescue as Edbro reaches tipping point
Staying at the top of your industry is just as hard as getting there in the first place. That hasn’t stopped Edbro from retaining its reputation as the go-to manufacturer of industry- standard hydraulic tipping hoists (that’s the fancy name for the mechanism that enables tip-up trucks to tip). Staying ahead of the competition requires an insatiable appetite for innovating. Improving. Driving value in new markets.
For help with all three, Edbro uses SOLIDWORKS.
3D modelling and finite element analysis (FEA) enables complex simulations of how new designs will function and behave in response to real-world forces, speeding time to market and fixing manufacturing issues before the product even leaves the design suite – let alone gets to prototyping. SOLIDWORKS’ technical product specification and integrity of data is vital to getting a robust product that can be repeated at scale.
That’s not all.
Sharing and interpreting CAD files has long been an irksome problem in the engineering industry. Yet SOLIDWORKS PDM Workgroup data management software gives relevant parties fingertip access to the most recent versions of the data they need – without having to convene with the engineering department. Data moves seamlessly from stakeholder to stakeholder – and right back again.
The ease of designing in SOLIDWORKS allows Edbro to slash overheads. Its customers get quality, without the cost – allowing Edbro to compete on an international scale in low cost markets. As for the ease of data sharing? Edbro are rolling out new product ranges faster than ever before.
It’s the little things that matter. Ask Truck-Lite.
Modern commercial trucks come with some pretty hi-tech gadgets. That could be anything from incandescent brake lights to night vision systems, even modules that monitor lane departures or provide the driver with a 360-degree view of the vehicle. Rather than mechanical failures, it tends to be these small component parts that go wrong and prevent a vehicle from being roadworthy.
Step forward Truck-Lite Europe Ltd.
Truck-Lite is a global leader in the design and manufacture of vision systems for commercial vehicles: trucks, trailers, off-road military vehicles – you name it. Truck-Lite’s high-selling vision systems are reliant on a special connector circuit and they work with Lynar Manufacturing to meet the demand for a constant supply of them.
But there was a problem.
The tooling used to make the connector circuits was in bad need of repair after years of use producing countless circuits. Production was at risk. Output was faltering. Time was of the essence. Lynar Manufacturing turned to SOLIDWORKS 3D to streamline the design and develop new tooling. Not only did it maintain output for Truck-Lite, but Lynar Manufacturing can now guarantee the robust supply of a more reliable component for many years.
CAD keeps the wheels turning…
For any economy, it’s vital to keep the wheels of industry turning. When it comes to the commercial automotive industry, 3D CAD is helping to drive innovation, improve reliability, slash costs and get incredible new products to market faster than ever before. What could it do for your business?
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