Virtual Tools to Support Design and Production Engineering: Early detection of stone chips to optimize production processes

Due to continuously changing boundary conditions, strengthened legislative restrictions, effects of globalization, and those coupled with costs and time pressure, the world of automotive manufacturers is massively changing. In addition to the required reduction of the development- and manufacturing time of automotive products, the costs for these processes have to be reduced. These time- and cost savings require appropriate measures, such as introducing new methods, systems and products, in design and manufacturing plants. In this aspect the development and application of enhanced virtual products in the area of design, simulation and production engineering within various computer-aided engineering environments play a crucial role. Virtual product development has allowed vehicle manufacturers and automotive suppliers to take a large step forward by optimizing engineering processes. Particularly in the early phases of vehicle development it is possible to obtain virtual test results by means of analysis & simulation in order to minimize the costs for physical prototypes in later phases. A good example are crash tests, in which physical prototypes (e.g, car bodies) are largely replaced by virtual simulation models. In this context, the present paper outlines an approach of an integrated virtual product model that intervenes in the early phases of vehicle development in areas such as bodywork development including styling exterior investigations, supporting optimized processes. In addition, the presented approach supports both accelerated time to market and quality improvement in automotive industry.