The Integration of Cad/Cam/Cae Based on Multi-Model Technology in the Development of Cylinder Head

The integration of CAD/CAM/CAE in product development is the key to realize concurrent engineering. Generally, different systems are employed in product development department. These different systems create a lot of troubles such as difficult communication, misunderstanding and so on. A new approach to integrate CAD/CAM/CAE in one system based on CATIA for the end-to-end process in cylinder head development is presented. Multi-Model Technology (MMT) is used to create consistent and associated CAD models for the end-to-end process in cylinder head development. The concept and method to create and organize multi- models are discussed. A typically four-layer structure of MMT for mechanical products is defined. The multi-level structure of the cylinder head models based on MMT is provided. The CAD models of cylinder head created based on MMT can be used as the consistent model. All models in the downstream of cylinder head development such as structure analysis, CFD, sand core design, casting simulation and so on are associated with them because of the associativity of MMT. Practice shows the approach in this paper enabling the development process to be carried concurrently and can obviously shorten time to market, reduce product cost and improve product quality.