Analysis Led Design (ALD) Approach for Development of Air Filter Mount Casting Component in Mower Machine

With the current industrial trend, where demand for reduced weight & cost, optimal shape and reduced assembly time is of prime importance, structural optimization has become need of the hour. Traditionally, structural optimization is largely analysis driven, however with analysis led design (ALD) democratization, it has now equally been shared by design engineers. In this paper, a casting component was developed as an alternative to engine air filter bracket weldment used in wide area mower machines through analysis led design (ALD) approach. The 11 piece weldment assembly of engine filter bracket along with high cost and complex assembly, had significant warranty claims. To overcome these challenges, weldment was converted into a single piece ductile iron casting. Complex design shapes and optimal design opportunities often make casting components an ideal optimization problem. In order to obtain optimal casting design shape along with sufficient load bearing capacity, generative design (GD) ALD optimization was carried out for this part. Multiple iterations of generative design with varying design parameters were performed to obtain optimized design shape. Based upon generative design output, weight neutral casting was designed. Casting was also modified for assembly and functional requirement in consultation with hydraulic routing. Once casting design was completed, it was validated through Simsolid FEA analysis ALD tool and was optimized before running the final FEA analysis. Final casting design was also simulated for understanding manufacturability and defect potential using MAGMA casting simulation. Actual casting component was then manufactured and validated through field study. ALD tools usage in this project not only helped to obtain optimized design but also reduced component design time by approx. 30%. This demonstrates how effectively ALD approach can help in product development.