Product category:
3D CAD software
News Release from: SolidWorks Corporation | Subject: SolidWorks
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 11 May 2006
3D CAD turns office seat into car life
saver
A US West Coast development team has used SolidWorks software to design and analyse a new seat that could double the safety of cars in head-on collisions.
A US West Coast development team has used SolidWorks software to design and analyse a new seat that could double the safety of cars in head-on collisions Several car companies and seating manufacturers are currently testing the seat, which operates on the same principle as a porch glider - pendular motion
American Ergonomics Corp recently performed an extensive series of crash tests on its Counter-Balanced Motion (CBM) seat technology under National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) guidelines.
Dummies riding in the seat and wired with sensors were driven into a solid wall at 56km/h.
The test results, affirmed by specialised auto crash simulation software, indicated the CBM seat could reduce head injuries by 30% and leg injuries by 70%, according to the company.
Head-on collisions generally involve two impacts, one when the driver's body slams forward in the cockpit and a second, rearward "whiplash" when the head and neck recoil.
The CBM seat mitigates the first impact in a collision by arcing forward a few inches on an upturned rail, tipping the body away from the impact and folding the legs safely away from the floor.
The lower back stays safely in contact with the backrest, and the face travels more slowly to impact with the airbag.
The seat absorbs the subsequent recoil by sliding back into its original position.
The same actions serve everyday comfort by enabling drivers and passengers to stretch their legs, automatically adjust their seat, and experience continuous lumbar support.
CBM technology was developed by the same team that produced the ultraflexible Ergomax office chair, American Ergonomics of San Rafael, California, and Gizmo Design of Sebastopol, California.
Designer Tom Greer, owner of Gizmo Design, used SolidWorks 3D CAD software to adapt the seat design for automobiles and used CosmosWorks Designer analysis software to refine the design and carefully predict what would happen to the seat on impact.
"After the crash test, we removed the seat pan and held it up to the CosmosWorks image on our computer screen, and they were identical", said Greer.
"CosmosWorks absolutely predicted what would happen in the real world so precisely it made our hair stand on end".
"More importantly, the result of our work will make the difference between someone leaving the scene of a crash on foot or, sadly, in an ambulance.
"We purchased SolidWorks software over Pro/Engineer and AutoCAD Inventor Series because of its ease of use, compatibility with other platforms, and pervasive use by our machine shop partners", he said.
"It has served us well over many products and many years".
Greer uses the software to design a wide range of products for the consumer, medical, aerospace, and automotive industries, including Hasbro's SuperPlexus maze game.
"The inventor and designer have an unquenchable passion for design and innovation - in this case, a potentially life-saving innovation", said Rainer Gawlick, SolidWorks Vice President of Worldwide Marketing.
"We aim to support it through equally passionate innovation of the SolidWorks and Cosmos products through 2007 and beyond".
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