Integrate Structural Optimization into Upfront Carbon Canister Component Design Process

An effort to integrate a structural optimization process into the carbon canister bracket design is presented to demonstrate the benefits of an upfront Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) driven design. Structural optimization methods - including topology, shape, and size optimization - are used to develop the injection molded plastic carbon canister bracket. Furthermore, the incorporation of the Knowledge Base Engineering (KBE) features in the design process not only accelerates the design process but also ease manufacturing feasibility. Even though topology optimization has been widely used to explore the initial topological designs of different products, it is still a great challenge to explore shell like structure designs with 3D solid design package spaces using topology optimization method. Recently, some commercial optimization codes have developed new capabilities to include the manufacturing constraints like extrusion while using topology optimization to explore different design options. This new feature may help address the manufacturing issues with the same design intent and design domain. However, the development of shell like structures for 3D solid design domains has not been resolved. This paper presents an effort to integrate topology, shape, and size optimization into an upfront product development process for carbon canister bracket. The collaboration among different functions including CAD engineers, product engineers, manufacturing engineers, and CAE engineers plays a crucial role to the success of the upfront CAE driven design process. The proposed CAE driven design process will not only help design robust products, but it will also shorten the product development cycle time and reduce development costs by a considerable amount.