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The ACP Process Applied to the FutureSteelVehicle: The Future of Product Design and Development

WorldAutoSteel completed FutureSteelVehicle program (FSV) in May of 2011 with the aim to help automakers optimize steel body structures for electrified vehicles. The program objective was to develop detailed design concepts and fully optimize a radically different body structure for a compact Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) in production in the 2015-2020 timeframe. This paper will provide an overview of the development of an multi- disciplined optimization product design methodology and how it was developed in concert with the WorldAutoSteel FutureSteelVehicle (FSV) program. This optimization technology combined with the advanced high strength steels and the design flexibility of these products enabled 35% BIW mass reduction, exceeding the mass reduction o previous steel programs. This methodology is being made commercially available through the proprietary Accelerated Concept to Product (ACP) ProcessTM. The ACP ProcessTM is a performance-driven, holistic product design development method, which is based on design optimization. ACP incorporates the use of multiple CAE tools (i.e; LS-DYNA) in a systematic process to generate the optimal design solution. The ACP ProcessTM is a methodology that provides solutions, which address the challenges facing the modern product development environment. It achieves this by synchronizing the individual facets of the product development process, resulting in an overall reduction in development costs and time to market. Material selection and utilization, product performance requirements and manufacturing and assembly processes are all considered as early as possible in the design cycle. The resulting design offers a robust and highly efficient solution; which when combined with the strength and design flexibility of Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) or other materials; facilitates significant mass reduction for the final design.