Software keeps Formula One company on track

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 15, 2006

Manufacturing company to use software to design and manufacture high-end composite parts for the motor sports industry, including all Formula One projects.

Carbo Tech Composites, a manufacturing company and Formula One specialist, has selected Vistagy's Fibersim software for its composites design work.

The company will use the software to design and manufacture high-end composite parts for the motor sports industry, including all Formula One projects.

Due to the rigours of Formula One racing, composite parts must be durable enough to withstand many millions of load changes and be extremely lightweight for optimal vehicle performance, while conforming to all mandated safety provisions.

Using Fibersim's flat pattern and new automated plybook generation capabilities, Carbo Tech engineers will streamline the materials design and lay-up process to build quickly and accurately composite parts that meet all customer specifications.

Plybooks enable engineers to identify, list and understand the actual sequence and relationships between the numerous plies that make up composite products.

In the past, Carbo Tech designed each individual ply by manually creating sequential drawings and lists, consuming many hours of design time and risking manufacturing errors.

Fibersim automatically generates 2D and 3D plybooks as well as cross sections, customised notes, multiple views, lay-up orientations and all necessary documentation for composite parts manufacture, and shares the documents across the entire product development chain.

As a result, Carbo Tech expects to decrease significantly product design and manufacturing times while ensuring part quality.

The company will also use Fibersim to create manufacturing data such as flat patterns for cutting or laser projection machines.

"Formula One engineers need constantly to design innovative composite parts as rapidly as possible to raise the bar on the competition and win on the circuit", said Ralf Brand, Head of Design at Carbo Tech Composites.

"After evaluating Fibersim, we are convinced that the software will enable us to design more efficiently, accurately simulate and reliably manufacture our most complex composite parts".

Alex Edwards, General Manager, Europe, at Vistagy, said: "Carbo Tech has a long history of meeting its Formula One customers' needs for durable, lightweight parts on tight schedules".

"With Fibersim, engineers can automate previously manual processes to help them achieve their design and manufacturing goals quickly, efficiently and more cost effectively".