JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #48 - May 2009 - 28

BUSINESS Trends …… / A comprehensive view of software and services in a Vistagy technical consultant (TC) to be part of our design team and actually learn our processes and the way we approach designing the race car. Vistagy has always provided us with excellent support, but there is no way a technical consultant could know the inner workings of F1 without spending time with us. For one thing, F1 geometry tends to be quite complex. We figured that if the TC really knew what we did, we could get even more value out of FiberSIM. Usually you bring in a consultant to teach the basic software skills and run the materials training. While this can be very useful, it doesn’t translate into a true partnership. Having the TC there on the premises changes the dynamic in a very positive way. For instance, if you run into a design scenario that you’re not sure how to deal with, it is much better to have a TC right there to immediately apply their knowledge of FiberSIM. While talking to someone on the telephone in technical support is very helpful, it is impossible for them to have the same depth of understanding of that particular issue as the person who is working with us in person. The good thing about having a technical consultant here was that we were able to pick up lots of tips and tricks about FiberSIM. It moved us away from just using the most basic functions, and enabled us to get the most out of the software. It was also good to be able to have a two-way dialogue with someone who was so knowledgeable about FiberSIM and what we are doing. We were able to get a much deeper understanding of the software. The technical consultant’s first step was to train two designers on FiberSIM 5.4 before being briefed on doing concept design work on CAD. By working with us, the TC was able to get a much better understanding of the evolution of the car. Working with the TC allowed us to learn while working and apply the lessons learned immediately. We found the onthe-job training quite beneficial. By the end of the process, we benefited from having a lot of advanced FiberSIM work done while the TC had been trained as an F1 designer. One of the major benefits of having the TC in-house was that, together, we identified ways to further enhance the software functionality. This will be useful for future product development and result in an even better solution for our application. consuming and often involves rework; • Long layup times as manual layup time is slow and error-prone compared with FiberSIM controlled-laser ply placement; • Production deadlines are tight – a slip in the schedule would delay other work on the car. Once the 3D CAD gearbox model was complete, engineers for the ING Renault F1 Team used FiberSIM to enter ply specifications such as material, sequence, start point and orientation of the ply layup. The team then used FiberSIM to simulate actual layup and check for weak points caused by fibre deviation over the gearbox curves, thus determining the optimal layup starting points and directions. Once that was done, the team was ready to create flat patterns. Traditionally, technicians create the flat patterns by laying sheets of paper and tape on the completed gearbox mould, cutting the paper by hand to the shape of the different ply patterns, adding the necessary darts and splices. Many manufacturing engineers manually entered the pattern data into templating software for the cutting machine. The process was laborious and time-consuming, and frequently required rework. With FiberSIM, the engineers created the flat patterns digitally from the completed 3D ply data, and then exported ply layup patterns to an automated cutter and a laser projection machine that ensured accurate and rapid ply layup. One of the key issues was FiberSIM’s ability to capture the design intent. Since we do some outsourcing of the manufacturing, it is very important for the person doing the layup to be clear on what we want. This also gives us consistency in the design from car to car, a critical consideration if you want to be able to make the most precise performance evaluation. Precision pays off I don’t think it is any exaggeration to say that those of us who work in Formula One racing are absolutely obsessive about being precise. It might be no more than a slight overstatement to say that we would be willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars to find a way to save an ounce of weight so we could increase the speed and enhance our performance on the track. So, the ING Renault F1 Team technical staff was more than a little impressed when we took a chassis that had been designed with Vistagy’s composite engineering software for the R29, and tested it to see if FiberSIM had given us a precise picture of what our chassis was really made of. We analyzed over a thousand plies of carbon fibre, and found that the data the software had provided on a ply-by-ply basis for the analysis-todesign stage and the design-tomanufacturing phase was 100% accurate. We were even more impressed when we took the chassis to our lab with the most up-to-date testing equipment and used ultrasound to determine if FiberSIM accurately predicted the thickness of each ply. Once again, the software was 100% spot on. There is no question that achieving that kind of precision – knowing exactly what you have in terms of plies, orientation, etc. – is absolutely critical to continuously improving the car. Clearly, Vistagy enables us to do that. But just as impressive has been witnessing the transformation of Vistagy Vistagy consulting services complete the solution When we were thinking about how to approach the 2009 season and the development of R29, we decided to bring 28 jec composites magazine / No48 May 2009

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #48 - May 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #48 - May 2009