Silver anniversary for environmental cube

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 4, 2004

Visioneering UK is celebrating the 25th anniversary of environmental cubes (e-cubes), which have helped to revolutionise preproduction and volume production accuracy in the automotive industry.

Visioneering UK is celebrating the 25th anniversary of environmental cubes (e-cubes), which have helped to revolutionise preproduction and volume production accuracy in the automotive industry.

Originally conceived in the mid-1980s by Visioneering in Detroit to serve the US auto industry, the e-cube was introduced to Britain in the early 1990s by Visioneering UK, now one of Europe's leading developers and suppliers of e-cubes to global vehicle manufacturers.

And, according to Brian Horner, Chief Executive of Visioneering UK, the technology behind e-cubes has come a long way in that time.

In the 1990s it became possible to combine the interior and exterior details into a single fixture, saving space and cost and also enabling the interaction between interior and exterior features to be evaluated at an early stage.

Horner said: "The costs of developing cubes in real terms have steadily reduced even though the scope and complexity have increased well beyond what was initially conceived".

"The revolution is ongoing".

"The emergence of new materials and the increasing use of aluminium have helped to develop more durable and more stable tools with strong mechanical joints".

"Segmenting the structure makes it easy to introduce engineering changes at minimal cost".

"Virtual technologies continue to develop, but there will always be a need for a physical representation to ensure not only perfect fit but also a harmonious look".

Recent studies have shown that e-cubes pay for themselves many times over by helping to avoid the need for changes to finished tooling, and have additional benefits for manufacturers by enabling potential problems to be detected and rectified at an early stage in the engineering programme prior to tool completion.

Now that cubes are almost universally used in the design and development phase of new cars, it is, says Horner, hard to believe that initially there were many sceptics regarding the cube concept.

He explained: "At the outset there were those who did not believe in what is essentially a quality maturation tool that can hold and locate components accurately in their correct spatial position and environment relative to the product as a whole and to adjacent parts".

"The cube helps to ensure components and design are right first time - they really have helped change mind sets".

"Gone are the days when consumers steered clear of first production models because of their reputation for faults.

Instead there is now confidence in accuracy and quality and the newest models straight off the production lines are often those most in demand".

Although environmental cubes were initially developed for the automotive industry the concept is one that is equally applicable across other transport areas - rail and aerospace - and other engineering sectors, including white goods.

Horner said: "The future for the environmental cube is assured.

As long as assemblies are made of individual components supplied by a number of manufacturers using a wide variety of materials, there will be a continuing need for a physical maturation tool during the design and development period of any project".