Today's automotive industries are challenged to produce new products in less time than ever before. Over the past ten years, new design technologies have contributed to lower cost, higher quality products. Feature-based, parametric, associative CAD systems have streamlined engineering by enabling concurrent design of detailed models of all engineering deliverables that drive the design-through-manufacturing process. These deliverables include among others, behavioral models of components and assemblies.
Using the Package analysis of a 4WD vehicle MacPherson Front Suspension as a study case, this paper presents in detail the virtual kinematical method used to simulate suspension, steering and tire system and identify dynamic clearances and interferences between components. Further describes also the engineering validation of the results on actual vehicles.
Therefore this work represents a successful example of the usage of this method in the Package analyses of automotive components showing its functional and productive benefits.