Product category:
PLM and collaboration software
News Release from: Siemens PLM Software | Subject: NX suite
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 23 October 2003
Software to speed British bike to MotoGP
title
Proton Team KR has chosen EDS product lifecycle management software as part of its drive to win the MotoGP World Championship with a British-built bike.
Proton Team KR, the motorbike racing team led by former world champion Kenny Roberts and the only independent Grand Prix team that develops and manufactures its own Grand Prix bikes, has chosen EDS product lifecycle management software as part of its drive to win the MotoGP World Championship with a British-built bike The new PLM software, which comprises 11 Unigraphics NX seats and I-deas NX Series tools, allows Proton Team KR's design engineers to develop an on-screen, virtual prototype of a complete bike and manage all aspects of the bike's production and lifecycle
Proton Team KR is already using the system to make modifications to its latest four-stroke bikes and will also use the software to design a new bike from the ground up.
Unigraphics NX and I-deas NX Series are the primary components of EDS PLM Solutions' NX suite of integrated computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE) software.
According to John Barnard, Technical Director of Proton Team KR and one of the world's most renowned motor sport engineers, EDS PLM Solutions' software will help cut crucial time in the development of new bikes.
"Timing is everything in any form of motor sport, so reducing the time taken to get a new bike onto the track or to make modifications will help us to build a championship winning machine", said Barnard.
"We selected EDS' NX suite because it offers all the functionality we need to get a bike from the design phase, to manufacture, through to making changes between races".
"MotoGP races take place on average every two weeks, with machine changes often made 'on the fly', while travelling from race to race.
One essential function of the NX suite is that it allows real-time global collaboration on the latest bike data, so the team can work closely with every department and supplier, wherever they are in the world, regardless of IT platform".
"Motorsport is the ultimate form of manufacturing, where using the latest innovation in components and design can save the seconds that win a race", said John Hurley, President of EDS PLM Solutions UK.
"EDS' NX suite of software solutions will enable Proton Team KR to rapidly evaluate several different alternatives to determine which offers the best combination of speed, strength, aerodynamics and weight.
This allows the team to develop competitive grand prix bikes that are constantly evolving and utilising new technologies".
Proton Team KR grew from the dominant Team Roberts in 1996, fielding its first motorcycle in 1997, and growing both in size and strength in the intervening years.
The only truly independent manufacturer in MotoGP racing, modelled on parallel facilities for F1, Proton Team KR is unique in its capacity to design, construct and develop a motorcycle from the ground up - and then to take it racing.
The four-stroke project has brought great changes at the Banbury base, with engineering staff almost doubled, and testing facilities likewise.
At the same time, the manufacturing base is at the cutting edge of the latest techniques.
New to the team is renowned F1 engineer John Barnard, whose distinguished portfolio includes triumphs with Ferrari and McLaren in F1.
"John brings a new and different way of looking at motorcycles, as well as a perfectionist approach", said Roberts, who believes that F1 technology has a vital role to play in pushing motorcycle development forward.
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