Product category:
3D CAD software
News Release from: SolidWorks Corporation | Subject: SolidWorks 3D CAD and CosmosWorks
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 12 September 2006
Software releases engineers from their
cages
3D CAD and design analysis software transforms a decades-old hand-crafted automobile chassis manufacturing process into one that is faster, more efficient and more accurate.
Caged is using SolidWorks 3D CAD and CosmosWorks design analysis software to transform a decades-old hand-crafted automobile chassis manufacturing process into one that is faster, more efficient and more accurate The company has cut weeks out of development and made the chassis lighter and straighter for the legendary Caterham cars, which have the performance and distinctive elegance to match their discriminating customer base
Founded in 2002 in Westbury, UK, Caged specialises in designing durable roll cages for motor sports vehicles.
The company had been supplying specially built roll cages to Caterham Cars .
when the car maker decided to reconfigure its Caterham 7 chassis and the inexact, labor-intensive process for making them.
Caged used SolidWorks to streamline the chassis design and CosmosWorks to test load strength and other tolerances.
Both SolidWorks and CosmosWorks are the starting point for an automated design-to-manufacture process that has cut months out of chassis development.
This new process lets engineers design and build a universal chassis that could support four different engines in 10 days.
"We couldn't have finished that first project in AutoCAD software".
"It doesn't have the ability to do that work", said Phil Squance, Engineering Director at Caged.
"SolidWorks as a product family is great because it lets you design something, tweak it, and analyse it in Cosmos to test it - all in one package".
"SolidWorks and CosmosWorks have more than doubled our productivity, while enabling us to design better chassis".
Building a car that weighs less than 450kg and is capable of going 0-60 mile/h in 3.1s requires that the chassis be strong and light.
Caterham engineers, who had never used CAD software, were initially skeptical that any chassis designed on the computer could deliver the performance demanded by discriminating drivers.
Squance and his team moved a couple of the tubes in the chassis to improve its stiffness and alignment, and then used CosmosWorks to arithmetically prove to Caterham engineers that the newly designed chassis was stronger.
"SolidWorks and CosmosWorks dramatically reduce the risk of human error from the hand-crafted process".
"Now, when we design something, cut it, and put it together, it fits", said Squance.
To streamline design-to-manufacture, Caged engineers simply import SolidWorks models directly into the software that runs the company's laser machine that cuts the tubes for the chassis.
This computer numerical control (CNC) process lets Caged quickly and accurately produce chassis tube frames that meet exact engineering specifications.
Each frame is sturdy and perfectly straight.
"Caged has carved a niche in a very competitive industry", said Michel Gros, SolidWorks Executive Vice President, Europe.
"Adopting SolidWorks and CosmosWorks has enabled it to save time and money, design better chassis, and help usher a sports car company with rich traditions in hand-wrought steel into the 21st century".
Caged relies on authorised SolidWorks reseller Cadtek Systems for ongoing software training, implementation, and support.
• SolidWorks Corporation: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Engineeringtalk email newsletter
• Engineeringtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
