Up-front simulation for innovation

SAE 100 Future look: For over a decade, research has proven that 70 to 80% of a vehicle's development and manufacturing cost is determined by decisions taken during the very early concept and design stages.

Many examples across the automotive industries have shown that fixing problems late in the development process can cost millions of euros. Putting increased engineering effort into a development project as early as possible heads off such problems by getting designs right the first time. Early simulations can significantly guide conceptual design, even before detailed geometry is firmed up. In addition to saving time and money, early prototypes and simulation allow companies to not only drive major design choices from the styling and packaging perspective, but also to take into account performance attributes such as safety, reliability, comfort, or sound quality.

Although the early concept stage of a vehicle development project strongly focuses on the form and fit factors, every early design decision strongly determines the product's intrinsic structural and dynamic properties, and therefore influences the final behavior of the vehicle. Each individual design freeze on a car body, for example, largely impacts the performance of the final vehicle in terms of safety, durability, passenger comfort, and NVH aspects. This issue particularly applies to a vehicle platform that will be used as a basis for many different variants. Designers and engineers do not only have to take into account the first upper body designs that will be released into the market; they also have to develop a platform that can accommodate multiple vehicle variants with a wide portfolio of operating conditions. A vehicle platform, for example, might be used for a midsized family car that focuses on comfort and fuel economy, and for a sport utility crossover that delivers a sporty, fun-to-drive experience.