Rapid Die Face Design: a step towards End-to-End ... - ESI Group

special report
Rapid Die Face Design: a step towards
End-to-End Virtual Prototyping
Letov develops two
components in a single high
quality part with PAM-FORM
The Virtual Prototyping Magazine
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010
Faster, optimized
distortion and stress
analyses with Visual-WELD

contents
esi talk is issued bi-annually by ESI Group
Executive Editor: Amy de Rouvray
Editor-in-Chief: Elise Lavoue - elise.lavoue@esi-group.com
ESI Group Marketing
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Group, except specified proprietary mention. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
All text and images included in the articles are the copyright of the companies presenting their applications and simulation tasks.
Photo credits: Tower Automotive, Seat, J. Walter Miller Company, Europea Microfusioni Aerospaziali, Renault, Dongfeng Motor
Corporation, Ford, Tecnalia-Labein, Letov, International Automotive Components, Piaggio Aero Industries, University of West
Bohemia.
G/RO/10.58-A
04 special report
• Rapid Die Face Design: a step towards End-to-End
Virtual Prototyping
07 success stories
• J. Walter Miller Company selects QuikCAST to support its
technological transition to larger castings
• Europea Microfusioni Aerospaziali optimizes nozzle guide vane
blades with casting simulation
• Renault Mégane III scores 5 stars at EuroNCAP thanks to Virtual
Performance Solution
• Dongfeng Motor Corporation draws on Virtual Performance
Solution to validate the Fengshen S30
• Ford uses PAM-CRASH for human modeling to advance
automotive safety research
• Tecnalia-Labein uses PAM-STAMP 2G to design an industrial
hotformed part
• IAC streamlines its automotive component simulation and
reporting process with Visual-Process
• Letov develops two components in a single high quality part
with PAM-FORM
17 partner highlights
• ESI is actively involved in the Research & Development of
composite materials
• ESI sponsors the Student Formula SAE Racing Team Pilsen
19 product news
• Virtual Performance Educational Package initiates students to
simulation
• VA One v2009.0 includes advanced models of foam and fibers
• Faster, optimized distortion and stress analyses with Visual-
WELD
21 corporate
• VisualDSS features in Oracle Partners Innovation 2009
magazine
• PROCESSWorks is recognized as ‘having educational value’
• Upcoming Expert Seminars
• Save the date!
• Users’ Conferences Worldwide on End-to-End Virtual
Prototyping
• Financial news
editorial
Harald Porzner and Martin Skrikerud
Virtual Manufacturing Product Line, ESI Group
Virtual Manufacturing has become very powerful for the
industry as it helps prevent and solve critical problems that
can occur during production. Indeed, many of the existing
Computer-Aided Engineering/Design/Manufacturing systems
are dedicated to a specific manufacturing process or testing
procedure, which makes them both essential and easy-to-use.
These systems, however, are reaching their limits – for the
same reasons that have made them strong. Because these
are dedicated tools, it is a challenge to move on to the next
step: End-to-End Virtual Prototyping, to integrate the entire
manufacturing chain. The performance of manufactured parts
and components depends on their manufacturing history. A
stamped part will have thickness variations, stresses and strains
introduced and modified by the welding which will ultimately
change the performance of the part. This is why the entire
manufacturing chain must be taken into account for accurate
End-to-End Virtual Prototyping. The key strength and differentiation
of End-to-End Virtual Prototyping is that it enables
the concurrent engineering of all manufacturing effects, not
only to evaluate manufacturability but also to improve the
performance of the simulation models.
When looking at Sheet Metal Forming, the trend is to integrate
the simulation stage into the Product Lifecycle Management
and Computer-Aided Design systems. The prior process
was to perform early feasibility studies based on rapid die
face designs, which did not allow for connected engineering
updates. Throughout the design phase of a new product,
single parts typically undergo several design changes or adjustments,
which then imply new feasibility tests. In support of
this recent trend, ESI offers PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5, a
rapid and comprehensive die face design software directly
integrated in the CATIA environment.
Our Sheet Metal Forming customers are now able to benefit
from a solution allowing continuous data flow throughout all
die engineering as well as maintenance of design iterations
within the Product Lifecycle Management, while delivering
rapid feasibility assessments through simulation.
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 3

s p e c i a l r e p o r t D I E F A C E D E S I G N
Rapid Die Face Design:
a step towards End-to-End
Virtual Prototyping
PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 combines the convenience and speed
of rapid die face design with the quality of the native CAD surfacing.
Traditionally, the die face design job was a time consuming trial-anderror
task with a high risk of production delays. With the introduction
of numerical simulation in the last few decades, these risks were significantly
reduced along with the prototyping time. Nonetheless, the
complexity of the job still meant that engineers were often creating a
draft design of the tool on which feasibility studies could be performed.
Once a feasible design had been reached based on the draft dies, the
die face design had to be repeated to obtain a better quality to validate
the design with simulation. Once validated, the final CAD-based
What is PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5?
PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 is a dedicated workbench inside the
CATIA PLM context, providing a trade-oriented solution for rapid stamping
tool design directly within CATIA V5. Using this application, tool
4
die face design could be produced. This process thus implied designing
the same tool three times with different accuracy levels along with the
uncertainty that the dies used for simulation might differ from the ones
actually used for milling. In the end, this meant that the prototype could
still offer some unpleasant surprises.
PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 offers a new approach, allowing engineers
to create their entire die face design inside the CATIA PLM environment.
The risk of encountering difficulties during the prototyping phase is thus
considerably reduced thanks to a validation of the simulation based on
the exact same tools used for milling.
The new improved workflow based on PAM- DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 (bottom), clearly shows potential time savings.
designers implement tool design and process knowledge by following
the natural tool face design process, thereby gaining in efficiency. This
dedicated solution also provides guidance and support for part preparation,
binder development and die addendum.
1
2
3 4
Typical workflow using PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5; from part (1) over blankholder design (2) to addendum surfaces (3) and finally solid model export (4)
esi talk

3 questions for…
Mark Vrolijk
Die Face Design Product Manager
What are the main market challenges?
“As many other areas, the die face design market has felt the impact of
the economic crisis; thus reinforcing the urge to save time and money,
without compromising on quality. During a die face design process, the
design is often modified several times; although we still observe an
increasing lack of automation as we go forward in the process – meaning
a lot of manual re-work.
In fact, while the cost estimation and feasibility phases can largely be
automated, the final die face design, where more details and higher surface
accuracy need to be considered, cannot. The user is left with a
generic CAD environment which does not contain dedicated functionalities
and workflow for his/her job. In practice this means that die face
designs are often created twice: once for prototyping, often in a CAE
environment, and once for production, in a CAD environment.
Additionally, many CAE-based die face designs cannot be used for the
final die milling, which implies a redesign in a CAD environment. When
taking into account all of these above limitations and challenges, saving
time and money are therefore not an easy task.”
What are the opportunities presented by
PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5?
“PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 enables data transferability and consistency
between the various stages of the die face design process by offering
surface quality and functionality required for each step. By avoiding
time-consuming duplication of geometries, considerable time-saving
can be achieved. Moreover, due to the fact that all phases in the die
face design process can be supported in a fast and efficient manner,
there is no longer a need for a costly in-house die face design solution
in a CAE environment.
Most of the die face design solutions currently available work with
parametric 2D profiles. This is a very fast and efficient way to create
the addendum geometry. However, when working on more complicated
geometries, it frequently fails to create the required geometry and
either the user has to make a compromise, or he needs to model the die
design (partially) in a CAD environment. PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5
is very flexible: it is based on the 2D profile approach, but when specific
geometries are required, all available CATIA V5 (surface) functionality
can be used to create the shape required.”
What is the future and strategic importance of
Virtual Manufacturing as a whole?
“The world is full of changes, with some of them, such as climate change,
straining the manufacturing industry. Consequently, the industry continually
needs to come up with new ideas, manufacturing methods, and
materials to meet the ever-changing requirements and expectations.
‘New’ entails test and validation before implementation. Testing new
ideas is thus a common and regular task.
Virtual Manufacturing allows this ‘testing’ in a fast and efficient way –
whilst saving resources. So before anything is built, Virtual Manufacturing
is performed to select the right innovations.
The fundamental idea to create an integrated and synthetic environment,
to support Virtual Manufacturing, is now at an advanced stage
with the offer of PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 for instance. The next
step, already underway, is fully enabling End-to-End Virtual Prototyping
throughout the entire chain from manufacturing to performance testing
and to delivering the product.”
F r o m p a r t d a t a . . . . . . t o F i n a l t o o l .
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 5

s p e c i a l r e p o r t
PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 has been widely tested and proves to be a highly valuable tool for die face design.
SEAT’s Prototype Center of Development (CPD), situated in the manufacturing
plant of the Spanish automotive company in Martorell (Barcelona)
is considered one of the most innovative in the Spanish industry and is
emblematic within the Volkswagen Group. It gathers in a single location all
activities linked to the development of prototypes for virtual and physical
phases, from pre-serial vehicles to serial analyses.
“For SEAT’s Prototype Center of Development (CPD), the release of tools
integrated into CATIA V5 such as PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5, allows a
rapid and accurate development of die face design. It is very valuable to be
able to perform the appropriate geometrical changes and to have these
evolutions simultaneously available for machining within CATIA.
This represents a tremendous advantage in terms of productivity as well
as for the final quality of our design, giving us the opportunity to perform
our work in a common environment during all process phases.”
Javier Diaz Martinez,
Manager of the Prototype Center of Development (CPD), SEAT S.A.
6
Tower Automotive do Brazil is part of Tower Automotive, one of the larg-
est independent global suppliers of automotive metal structural compo-
nents and assemblies. The company uses PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5
for speed and surface quality of the die face design performed in their
Technical Center.
“The software tool PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5 gave us the opportunity
to perform all the steps of our work in a single environment during all
phases of the development process. This brought us more speed for
our cost estimation analysis, with precise blank sizing and formability
simulations. We are finally more competitive when we present an offer
to our clients, having strong arguments with a guaranteed quality.”
Vladimir B. Ferreira Jr.
Tech Center, Tower Automotive, Brazil
sheet metal forming
Come meet the experts on Rapid Die Face Design
with PAM-DIEMAKER for CATIA V5
FREE
SEMINAR
rapid die Face design roadshow 2010 locations & dates:
Zamudio, Spain - May 27, 2010 Milan, Italy - June 10, 2010 Shanghai, China - July 2, 2010
Rungis, France - June 9, 2010 Erfurt, Germany - June 24, 2010
Beijing, China - June 30, 2010
Seoul, Korea - July 6, 2010
For registration & exact locations, please visit:
www.esi-group.com/die-design-roadshow
esi talk

casting
J. Walter Miller Company selects
QuikCAST to support its
technological transition
to larger castings
s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
With QuikCaSt, JWmC fully reconfigures its complex castings in 2 weeks instead of the 12 required
by conventional trial and error, and at minimal cost.
Historically, J. Walter miller Company (JWmC)
was specialized in small castings but has lately
been growing into larger sizes with the acquisition
of the diSa match 130, a match plate
molding machine. as a result, JWmC recently
undertook a profound technological evolution
from manual green sand squeeze molding to
fully automated molding machines where each
squeezer pattern needed to be converted to
run on the new equipment.
For a foundry producing non-leaded pump
components, impellers are a main challenge
because of the heavy and thin sections of
the casting. indeed, JWmC’s impeller castings
exhibited shrink porosity and voids in the hub
when machined at the customer’s facility; thus,
the riser at the hub area required redesign.
the initial design, prior to the use of QuikCaSt
software, led to the addition of a core in the
hub, to reduce the amount of liquid metal
required to feed the hub during solidification,
showing no defect after boring. However, a
new defect began to appear in the wear ring
section of the casting.
at this time, JWmC decided to explore the use
of QuikCaSt solidification software to determine
the cause of this frustrating new defect
and was subsequently able to find a new design
configuration, eliminating the shrink during
machining. QuikCaSt thus enabled JWmC to
reduce the number of iterations required to
reconfigure patterns, reduce porosity in finished
castings and explore opportunities for
yield improvement. in addition, JWmC’s cus-
tomer witnessed a dramatic reduction of scrap
in the machining process, which contributed to
large cost savings for both the customer and
JWmC.
Left: Closed riser and cored hub design –
Shrink pocket shown in wear ring.
Right: Open riser, solid hub design – No shrink
pocket in wear ring.
“this problem would have taken about 12 weeks
and $6,000 in pattern changes plus countless
hours of machine time to solve using conventional
trial and error methods. With QuikCaSt,
we can easily solve similar problems in 2 weeks
and produce a good pattern the first time. We
have used simulation on about 20 parts to date
and the simulation results are similar to what
we see in the shop,” said Dan Rudolph, Quality
Engineer at J. Walter miller Company.
Left: original Shrink defect found in
the heavy hub section of the casting
Right: Hub with no shrink cracks present
“ We selected QuikCaSt
b e ca u se i t h a s the
most comprehensive
capabilities for simulating
brass and bronze alloys.
QuikCaSt is a very
powerful simulation
tool.”
Dan Rudolph,
Quality Engineer,
J. Walter miller Company
A B O U T J . WA LT E R M I L L E R
C O M PA N y
J. Walter Miller Company has been producing
brass and bronze castings for the fire protection,
pumping and valve industries since 1887.
JWMC is a leader in casting no lead alloys and
helps its customers convert from leaded castings
to no lead castings through a smooth transition
thanks to its design services and pattern
shop.
www.jwaltermiller.com
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/casting/quikcast
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 7

s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
Europea Microfusioni
Aerospaziali optimizes
nozzle guide vane blades
with casting simulation
Using ESi software during the early stage of their design process, Ema saves time and money while
benefiting from yield improvement and better process control.
thanks to the development of dedicated techniques
over the last two decades, investment
casting modeling with ESi software has become
reliable and efficient to optimize safety components
such as turbine blades for jet engines.
the solution includes dedicated superalloy
material databases and ceramics characterization
allowing very accurate predictions.
Europea microfusioni aerospaziali (Ema) study
presented here refers to a stator type nozzle
Guide Vane (nGV) with three airfoils including
cores. ESi software was used to carry out a
design of Experiments (doE) with several independent
variables covering about 103 feasibility
hypotheses.
8
Fig. 1: Solidification time
ESi software can be used within an automatic
optimization loop. indeed, ESi’s simulation tool
allows to perform a doE automatically after
defining an objective such as minimizing porosity
without going against defined constraints.
With this module, one can also perform design
robustness analysis in order to control the stability
of the process.
“ When you have the right
tool in your hands, you
can easily get quick and
optimal solutions arising
from extremely complex
problems in superalloy
foundry. ESi software
does have the potential
to do this.”Ciro Caramiello PhD,
process modeling,
Ema rolls-royce
these simulations led to the automatic run of
about thirty models, in batch mode (command
line programming) (Fig. 2).
Preheating phase
the preheating phase includes preliminary
heating of the shell before metal pouring. this
stage is important as it affects significantly the
final part integrity. preheating temperature
and heat transfer losses are fundamental, and
therefore undergo the doE parameter level.
the former is the temperature reached by the
shell at the end of the pre-heating cycle; the
latter is the elapsed time from when the shell
is taken out of the pre-heating furnace to the
start of the pouring phase.
Fig. 3 shows, in particular, the thermal field of
the shell with a sliced view of the critical areas
such as the leading Edge (lE), the trailing Edge
(tE), and the core.
Pouring phase
casting
the pouring phase is the next important step
in the investment casting process. the velocity
profile, pouring angle and pouring time will
influence the quality of the component (shrinkage
porosity, local grain size, etc.).
typically, in a modelled doE, it is important
to take into account the thermal and fluid
dynamics profiles, as well as the solid fraction
and thermal flow during pouring. the filling
phase is particularly important for equiaxed
components (grain formation) compared with
directional Solidified (dSX) ones. it is therefore
always subject to a doE study, at least for a
couple of the above-mentioned parameters.
esi talk

Solidification phase
the study of the solidification phase concludes
the doE analysis. in general, the cooling rates,
the local solidification times, and the shrink-
age porosity prediction are analyzed. However,
advanced metallurgical analyses such as grain
structure or freckle prediction (SX) are also
possible and will determine more directly the
integrity and the specifications of the as-casted
part.
Fig. 2: Testing domain showing some parameters and their respective levels
Fig. 3: Isotherms view just before
the pouring starts
Fig. 4: Filling pattern temperature field
to conclude, the general aim of the doE analysis
is to achieve a pareto optimality, i.e. a condition
in which any change to a dependant
variable, such as porosity, is impossible without
adversely affecting the performance of another
variable, such as grain structure for instance.
to fulfill this, the two following conditions
must be met:
1) pareto optimal solutions must be identified
(e.g. maximizing performance only as regards
porosity),
2) the process must be stable (design
robustness).
Fig. 5: Temperature contours and
fraction of solid
modeling casting processes is a very complex
task in terms of testing domain: it may well
be regulated by over a hundred variables. the
advantage of using an optimization tool is
straightforward. the tool helps find the optimal
process parameters as well as evaluate the risk
of possible casting rejections due to random
fluctuations in the process.
Fig. 6: Final shrinkage porosity prediction
resulting in a sound part as critical porosity
remains in the risering system
A B O U T E U R O P E A M I C R O F U -
S I O N I A E R O S PA z I A L I ( E M A )
Located in Italy, EMA is a world class investment
casting foundry for the production of
components dedicated to civil and defense
aerospace, marine and energy industries. The
company is qualified to produce superalloys
components, using the equiaxed, directional
solidification and single crystal technologies.
EMA is owned by Rolls-Royce and thus has
inherited its know-how for developing and
refining innovative and industrially advanced
methods.
www.emaht.com
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/casting
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 9

s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
Renault Mégane III scores 5 stars
at EuroNCAP thanks to Virtual
Performance Solution
the new renault mégane iii earned 5 stars, the highest possible rating with 37 points at EuronCap
vehicle safety test.
renault started using Virtual performance
Solution with pam-CraSH in 2001 for structural
crash simulation. over the past few years, several
renault car models such as the laguna iii and the
Scenic were validated by simulation with pam-
CraSH and obtained excellent results, earning
both of these five stars at EuronCap.
the new renault mégane (also known as mégane
iii), launched in november 2009 in Europe, with
a new design and enhanced key features, has followed
this trend for safety excellence. indeed, the
mégane iii was awarded five stars at EuronCap
crash test. the highest rating was granted for
frontal crash testing, partly thanks to prior simulation
results obtained with pam-CraSH.
this high score for mégane iii is a turning point
for renault as they are the only automaker to
have ever earned eleven times five stars at the
EuronCap.
renault relied on virtual prototyping to validate
the design of the mégane iii car model,
10
“ pam-CraSH is a tailored
solution fully adapted
to renault’s problematic,
especially during the
development of the
mégane iii.”
Eric Duguet,
CaE Body-in-White manager,
renault Group
before testing any physical prototypes. Virtual
performance tests with pam-CraSH spanned
Body-in-White modeling, structural crash
analysis, as well as spotweld modeling. these
also included safety simulation with ESi’s occupant
safety analysis application within Virtual
performance Solution, such as airbags release,
belt pretentioners and occupant behavior under
load cases.
one important challenge renault addressed
during the development phase of mégane iii
was the decrease of Co emissions. in order to
2
achieve this, they optimized the steel parts of
the Body-in-White to reduce the weight of the
car, thus decreasing the overall Co expense and
2
keeping the same standard of vehicle robustness.
another target was to reduce the number of
physical prototypes relative to the mégane ii,
thereby saving in development costs.
Mégane III front crash simulation and EuroNCAP test
“Simulation is key to our project development
process,” said Eric Duguet, CaE Body-in-White
manager, renault Group. “pam-CraSH allows
us to identify not only the behavior of standard
vehicle definition but also the probability to
improve our crash performance and to build virtually
every element that has an impact on our
decision-making.”
A B O U T R E N A U LT
Renault S.A. (Euronext: RNO) is a French automaker
producing cars, vans, buses, tractors,
and trucks. The strategic alliance with the
Japanese automaker Nissan in 1999, makes
Renault the world’s fourth largest automaker.
Established in 1898 by the Renault brothers, the
company is well-known for numerous revolutionary
designs, security technologies and
motor racing. Renault also owns the Romanian
automaker Automobile Dacia and the Korean
automaker Renault Samsung Motors.
www.renault.com
crash, impact & safety
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/virtual-performancesolution
esi talk

crash, impact & safety
Dongfeng Motor Corporation
draws on Virtual Performance
Solution to validate the Fengshen S30
Virtual performance Solution allows the entire development process and validation of the Fengshen
S30 car model, the first passenger car designed and developed by dongfeng motor Corporation.
as a new comer in the car construction market,
dongfeng motor Corporation (dFm) had to
quickly gain experience and at the same time
competitive advantage to penetrate successfully
one of today’s most competitive markets.
they chose to implement Virtual prototyping
in order to reduce their time to market and
optimize their product development Cycle by
decreasing the total number of physical tests;
thus strongly cutting development costs.
to enable Virtual prototyping during the development
of the Fengshen S30, dFm validated
its virtual car model with Virtual performance
Solution before building a real physical prototype
to pass the high safety requirements
demanded by China’s national forced regulations.
pam-CraSH, crash simulation tool featured
in Virtual performance Solution, was
widely used by engineers to analyze the component
structure strength as well as the entire
car strength and stiffness.
the occupant restraint system integration was
also tested virtually for safety using Virtual
performance Solution.
“ our analysis engineers love
pam-CraSH. it is becoming
the reference analysis tool
of the crash simulation
platform.”
Dr. Chen Gan,
deputy Chief Engineer,
dongfeng motor Corporation
dFm benefited from a single simulation model
to run all performance tests, thus avoiding
repeating work. While the side crash engineers
set up seat, airbag and dummy for side crash
testing and performed the side crash, another
team of engineers from a different speciality are
able to divide the basic model, load seat belt
anchors and improve the local model. through
strict job analysis, the Fengshen S30 solved
the defects early in the product development
Cycle, passed successfully and even surpassed
national forced regulations, and ensured the
development tasks were done favorably.
“We used Virtual performance Solution for a
number of crash and safety simulation analyses
with pam-CraSH to develop the dongfeng
Fengshen S30. We found and solved many
problems. pam-CraSH is a good crash and
safety simulation tool, which guarantees finishing
the design work in time. We are planning to
use it widely in new product developments,”
said Dr. Chen Gan, deputy Chief Engineer at
dongfeng motor Corporation.
A B O U T D O N G F E N G M O T O R
C O R P O R AT I O N
Dongfeng Motor Corporation is one of the
three giant auto makers in China; including passenger
vehicles, commercial vehicles, engine,
auto parts & components, and equipment as
main businesses. With about a 14% share of
China’s automotive market in 2008, Dongfeng
Motor Corporation ranks respectively twentieth
in the Top 500 domestic enterprises and
fifth in the Top 500 domestic manufacturers
in China.
www.dfmc.com.cn
s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
Body-In-White simulation
Frontal crash simulation
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/virtual-performancesolution
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 11

s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
A long-standing relationship
Ford motor Company and ESi have had a longstanding
relationship since the early nineties. it
is then that Ford motor Company started using
pam-CraSH for advanced biomechanics simulation
in research and development, and they
still do today. pam-CraSH is ESi’s structural
crash analysis application software, included in
Virtual performance Solution.
the project started with human head injury
modeling in pam-CraSH and continued to
12
building the whole human body model. Ford
is one of the few carmakers developing human
body modeling techniques today. thanks to
these technologies, virtual human crash tests
can be realized. the virtual human models
are savvy alternatives to study the dynamic
responses of real humans during blunt impacts,
since using actual human subjects for physical
testing is undesirable, if not impossible.
Defining impact injury
criteria
Ford motor Company uses pam-CraSH mostly
to perform impact biomechanics research.
Engineers set up model and related parameters
to measure the impact responses of the vehicle
and different parts of the occupant – including
brain, chest, thorax, abdomen and low extremity
– during vehicle crashes.
the starting point of the project is brain injury
modeling, which is of high importance and
complexity in vehicle safety. then the rest of
the body is modeled.
it is essential that the model be as close as
possible to the real human, and that including
accurate model geometry and human-like
material properties.
biomechanics
Ford uses PAM-CRASH for human
modeling to advance automotive
safety research
“ pam-CraSH is a tailored
s i m u l a t i o n t o o l fo r
a d v a n c i n g r e s e a r c h
i n b i o m e c h a n i c s i n
replacement of impact
tests with human body
models.”
Dr. Jesse Ruan,
technical Specialist, Biomechanics and
Human Body modeling,
Ford motor Company
Crash Simulation with Dummy Model Crash Simulation with Human Body Model
Stress-strain analyses are performed on the
deformable model, as stresses/strains are the
physical parameters related to injury, recovery,
and growth of biological tissues.
injury criteria are then defined once the mechanisms
of injury are known through the impact
simulations with the human body model.
Human Head Injury Finite Element Model
A B O U T F O R D M O T O R
C O M PA N y
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive
industry leader based in Dearborn (MI, USA),
manufactures or distributes automobiles
across six continents. With about 200,000
employees and about 90 plants worldwide,
the company’s automotive brands include
Ford, Lincoln and Mercury. The company provides
financial services through Ford Motor
Credit Company.
www.ford.com
crash, impact & safety
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/biomechanics
esi talk

sheet metal forming
Tecnalia-Labein uses
PAM-STAMP 2G
to design an industrial
hotformed part
s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
Hotforming simulation enables tecnalia-labein to notably reduce quenching times and direct cost,
better understand the process and obtain a robust design.
Hotforming involves the stamping and press hardening
of high temperature heated blanks with
active cooled tools, a complex process in which a
high number of physical phenomena occur simultaneously.
is it possible to use a fully coupled simulation
handling all these parameters? or is uncoupled
simulation still the best way for optimum process
design?
to find out, tecnalia-labein chose pam-Stamp
2G to simulate the hotforming of the central part
of an automotive B-pillar, geometry courtesy of
renault, where physical tests with a prototype
tooling manufactured by diede were used to
validate the methodology and results.
Hotformed automotive B-Pillar
Simulation was first performed in terms of drawin
shape and value, thinning, thickness, radius
runover, wrinkling, thermal distribution within the
blank, press force, and hardness. the results were
then confronted to experimental results, correlating
accurately.
the next step was to determine the die behavior
and identify potential cooling improvements that
could be applied on the final tool design, by using
another general purpose Finite Element method
(FEm), in an uncoupled way. the optimization of
factors affecting heat transfer from the hot blank
to the cooling fluid within the tooling is essential
to ensure completely quenched parts whilst
reducing cycle time, thermal stresses and tool
wear.
Using thermal simulations with the general purpose
FEm code, the final tool’s cooling channels
were redesigned to eliminate hot spots while
achieving a low and uniform temperature distribution,
ensuring proper quenching of the part,
following diede and renault specifications.
Thickness correlation
“ pam-Stamp 2G has
enabled a fast design of
the hotforming tooling,
and due to the high
level of accuracy of the
results, it has allowed the
validation of the tooling
and simulation results
with the experimental
tests.”
Iñigo Aranguren /Marian Gutiérrez
(automotive Unit, tecnalia-labein)
A B O U T T E C N A L I A - L A B E I N
Originally founded in 1955, Tecnalia-Labein is
the biggest technology center in Spain working
mainly with businesses, which seeks to be
a natural ally of firms in the marketplace and
help them develop their innovation capabilities
using technology to provide a competitive
edge.
www.labein.es
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/sheet-metal-forming
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 13

s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
IAC streamlines its automotive
component simulation and
reporting process with
Visual-Process
by dE Editors | published February 24, 2010
as part of its operations, international
automotive Components (iaC) receives geometric
studio design surfaces for interior components
from automotive original equipment
manufacturers (oEms) in the form of a computer-aided
design (Cad) files. the company’s
engineers use this information to design parts
and meet federal crash test requirements. the
oEms are responsible for testing the systems to
ensure they comply with Federal motor Vehicle
Safety Standards (FmVSS) for instrument panels
(ips) and upper interior components.
Federal Safety Standards
FmVSS 201 states that when an area of the
instrument panel is hit by a 6.8 Kg, 165 mm
diameter head at 19 Km/hr, the deceleration
of the head should not exceed 80 g continuously
for more than 3 ms. FmVSS 201U provides
a similar requirement for upper interior
components, such as the pillar trim, headliner,
and grab handle, but it is expressed in terms of
Head injury Criteria (HiC(d)) of less than 1000.
European ECE-21 and EEC 74/60 regulations are
similar, except they specify an impact speed of
24 Km/hr.
the oEm or supplier is responsible for identifying
the zone in which the passenger’s head may
contact the ip and upper interior components
(Fig. 1). FmVSS 201 defines the head-impact area
as the nonglazed surfaces of the interior that
are statically contactable by a 6.5-inch diameter
spherical head form, having a pivot point
to top-of-head adjustment ranging from 7.36
14
to 7.40 m. this process is normally undertaken
to cover the range of dummies (5th%, 50th%,
and 95th %).
the regulations state that all points in the
impact zone must meet the 80 g deceleration
requirements. the oEm or supplier must select
the number of representative points for simulation
that fall in the calculated head-impact
zone. For each impact point, the oEm or supplier
must determine the impact angle of the
head with that point. the regulations state the
angle should be determined by positioning a
line vertically at the seating reference point,
the rearmost normal position where the hip
contacts the seat and rotated down toward
the instrument panel until contact occurs. the
intersection of the perpendicular with the
panel assembly surface is the location of the
point of impact, and the direction of impact is
taken along the perpendicular.
The Manual Process
in the past, to assess the performance of interior
systems, iaC analysts had to perform a
lengthy manual process in a Cad system to calculate
the potential head-impact zone, define
impact points and approach angles, create
input data for crash simulation, and generate
a report from the simulation results. as part of
this process, they selected a series of points
in the impact zone and computed the impact
angle for each point. the analysts positioned
the head form at the impact point, assigned it
an initial velocity, created contacts between
the head form and ip, created input-output
simulation systems integration
the automated workflow substantially reduces design and crash testing analysis time, increases
accuracy, and cuts engineering costs.
control cards, exported lS-dYna input data,
read the lS-dYna result files, and created an
electronic report of the analysis results.
iaC’s engineers were dissatisfied with this process
because it tied up highly skilled analysts for
a considerable amount of time. in addition, it
often was a bottleneck in the delivery schedule.
Finding a Better Way
Fig. 1
the analysts evaluated several possible solutions
for automating the manual process.
a number of vendors offered the ability to
develop automated workflow around different
Cad and simulation solutions. iaC’s engineers
decided that ESi offered a flexible solution that
enabled them to develop a script that automatically
determines the impact zones, selects
impact points, and calculates impact angles at
a studio released Cad level very early in the
product development cycle.
“ESi’s Visual-process solution made it possible
to automate the entire simulation setup and
reporting process,” said Arun Chickmenahalli,
Computer aided Engineering manager for
iaC. “this substantially increased the time-
esi talk

savings that we were able to achieve in this
application.”
Developing an
Automated System
iaC worked with ESi to develop an automated
system for this process. the solution is based
on ESi’s VisualdSS (decision Support System),
which is designed to build and manage simulation
models for multiple domains, automate
processes and workflows, manage simulation
content and data, and support knowledgebased
decisions and automated reporting. the
environment captures and automatically executes
simulation processes, using wrappers for
popular simulation and Cad tools. templates
are defined, using the python scripting language,
and the task-execution sequences can
be described through a visual interface. the
templates library can be searched, using filters
and defined criteria for re-use in new projects.
another key component in the application
is ESi’s Visual-Crash dyna, which provides an
environment that enables both automated and
manual creation of lS-dYna models. Visual-
Crash dyna enables graphical creation of an
lS-dYna input deck, modification and deletion
of contacts, materials, constraints, control
cards, and crash entities. Visual-Crash dyna
modification tools help correct errors before
the model is submitted to the solver. Visual-
Crash dyna is incorporated in the automated
process, and analysts also use it to check and
tweak the input deck.
Script Operation
iaC analysts defined the inputs and outputs
required to execute the sequence of codes to
automate the entire crash simulation set-up
and reporting process. ESi developed the application’s
core by using iaC’s expertise and best
practices. the actual process begins when the
user inputs data, such as the seating reference
point and the center of gravity of the head, and
reads the Cad data from dassault Systèmes
Catia, Siemens plm nX Cad software, or any
other suitable Cad format. the script automatically
scans the Cad file by moving the
head model as specified in FmVSS regulations
to identify the impact zones. the script selects
impact points based on criteria provided by the
analyst/oEms (Fig. 2). For example, one oEm
Fig. 2. The crash-test analysis calculates
the head-impact zone.
Fig. 3. The automated analysis also calculates
target points and approach angles
for head impacts.
might specify that impact points be selected
every 100 mm, starting with the center of the
impact zone. the script computes the impact
angle for each point and positions the head
form at the impact point (Fig. 3). the initial
velocity is assigned to the head form as defined
in the regulation. the script then creates
lS-dYna contacts between the head form
and the instrument panel interior and among
the instrument panel interior components.
afterward, the script creates the lS-dYna
input-output control cards. an experienced
analyst reviews the input data and sometimes
makes changes, using the Visual-Crash dyna
environment.
For example, an analyst may move an impact
point, perhaps to a location on the ip, opposite
a bracket, which may be particularly sensitive
in terms of causing injury. the analyst directs
the script to export the lS-dYna input data
and submits it to the solver. When the solver
has completed its run, the script captures the
results. the analyst then runs the report-generation
command. the script captures the results
and formats them as defined by a template created
by the analyst. the software can produce
reports in Html, pdF, and ppt formats.
The Benefits
“the Visual-process script has substantially
improved our process to comply with FmVSS
201 regulations. Unlike other solutions that we
looked at, Visual-process was able to automate
the complete end-to-end head-impact simulation
process,” said Arun Chickmenahalli.
“ as a result, we have
been able to reduce by
four weeks the time
needed to complete
the simulation process
required to comply
with regulations, while
increasing the accuracy
of the simulation.”
Arun Chickmenahalli,
Computer aided Engineering manager,
iaC
the time savings help iaC bring products to
market faster, reduce its engineering costs, and
enable its analysts to complete more projects.
the improvements in accuracy are impossible
to quantify at this time but are also substantial.
the definition of impact zones, selection
of impact points, calculation of impact angles,
and other aspects of the process are now performed
by an auditable process so the company
has eliminated the risk of manual errors.
A B O U T I N T E R N AT I O N A L
A U T O M O T I V E C O M P O N E N T S
( I A C )
IAC is a leading global supplier of instrument
and door panels, headliners, carpet and acoustic
systems, cockpits, and fascias. Originally the
former interiors divisions of Lear and Collins &
Aikman, IAC has nearly a century of expertise,
dating back to the Ford Model T. The company
has more than 80 manufacturing sites
and more than 90 total locations in 17 countries.
IAC has more than 23,000 employees and
approximately $3.2 billion in sales worldwide.
www.iacna.com
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/simulation-systems-integration
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 15

s u c c e s s s t o r i e s
LETOV develops two
components in a single high
quality part with PAM-FORM
By enabling the forming of an integrated shape in one shot, pam-Form helps lEtoV
reduce the weight of the part as well as the cost of production without impairing
its mechanical characteristics.
nowadays, the use of composite materials
has expanded in various areas of science and
technology due to their special properties.
thus, developers and manufacturers of composite
parts in order to remain competitive, are
urged to leverage their engineering expertise
to address the challenges of high performance
composites and increase the process and material
understanding for future applications.
one of lEtoV’s recent projects has been the
production of clips for a major aircraft constructor.
Clips are small joining parts in the fuselage
structure of an airplane made of two components.
they have chosen this project to try
out the development of an integrated part in
a single shot without impacting the mechanical
properties of the clip, using virtual prototyping
in order to lower production costs and weight.
to do so, lEtoV engineers used ESi composites
forming simulation software pam-Form
to evaluate multiple strategies and determine
the right tooling and process parameters of the
integrated composites clip. as the clip’s shape is
quite complex, this would have required many
trials and considerable development time without
the use of a dedicated software tool.
pam-Form was also used for tool design optimization
where lEtoV engineers measured
the high temperature material property values
characterizing the forming behavior of the composites
part. the simulation displayed the fiber
orientation changes resulting from the shaping,
especially in the corners. the fiber orientation
induced by the forming process is critical for the
mechanical behavior of the final part.
16
Simulation with pam-Form allowed lEtoV
engineers to design a theoretical virtual model
with the forming tool and blank shape they
determined to be best. the use of pam-Form
for the virtual prototyping of clips proved to
be a success and confirmed that the combination
of experienced engineers and pam-Form
simulation tool can be very effective for problem
solving in high performance composite
applications.
“ pam-Form helped us
achieve our project
goals: lower weight and
cost of production while
preserving the mechanical
properties of the part.
additionally, it provided
us with more information
o n o p t i m i z i n g o u r
p ro d u c t i o n p ro ce ss
which can be reapplied
to similar projects.”
Josef K ena,
development manager
lEtoV lEtECKa VYroBa ltd.,
GroUpE latECoErE
composites & plastics
A B O U T L E T O V L E T E C K A
V y R O B A LT D
The company was established in 1918 as the
first facility for aircraft manufacturing in the
Czech Republic, developing and manufacturing
parts and subassemblies for civil and
military aircraft. Since 2000, LETOV LETECKA
VyROBA Ltd. is a subsidiary of the French company,
GROUPE LATECOERE. The Composite
Production Center was created for manufacturing
and also development of composite
parts for civil aircrafts.
www.letov.cz
Axial Strain on Fibers after forming
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/composites
Prototype built based on
PAM-FORM computations
esi talk

composites & plastics
ESI is actively involved in
the Research & Development
of composite materials
ESI GmbH successfully coordinates the PreCarBi project
today, advanced composites in the aerospace
industry mostly use either prepreg tape
laying, or resin infusion of dry textiles (liquid
Composite molding or lCm). Generally, prepreg
composites have superior stiffness, strength
and fatigue resistance due to toughened resins
and high fiber content. However, this type of
materials suffers from high costs, limited shapeability,
complex, expensive and time-consuming
manufacturing, and limited shelf life.
While lCm technologies can overcome these
drawbacks, lCm relies on low viscosity resins for
infusion and suffers from fiber misalignments
due to textile patterns, both leading to poorer
mechanical performance intolerable for many
structural aircraft applications.
this is why and where ESi initiated the European
Commission (EC) funded project – preCarBi -
three years ago to improve composite materials
accelerating its contribution to the research
& development of composite materials, ESi
GmbH coordinates the recently initiated 4-year
inFUComp European research Consortium.
the Consortium involves fourteen partners
and aims at providing an End-to-End Virtual
prototyping solution from pre-form design to
manufacturing (lri) specific to the manufacture
of large aerospace composite parts. Simulation
will minimize expensive and time-consuming
‘trial and error’ testing methods and help manufacture
high quality parts, faster and at lower
cost.
the inFUComp project will positively contribute
to further the use of textile composites in
the aeronautic sector, lowering cost, improving
performance, increasing payloads and reducing
fuel emissions. although the planned research
for lCm. involving eleven partners from 9 coun-
tries, the consortium had for main objective to
develop a new generation of bindered composite
materials and associated simulation tools.
the preCarBi project took into account three
principal materials: new composite materials
for bindered carbon yarns, compatible resins,
and converted new binder yarn composites
into industrial preforms (Woven or non-crimp
Fabric).
ESi’s major contribution to the project has been
forming, infusion and mechanical analysis of
industrial aerospace applications manufacturing
with the liquid resin infusion (lri) technology,
using pam-QUiKForm and pam-rtm, simulation
solutions for thermoforming and manufacturing
of plastics and composites.
this resulting research is considered an important
contribution for advanced liquid resin
ESI initiates the 4-year INFUCOMP consortium
focuses on aerospace applications, it is expected
the results will be very relevant to other
industries.
“the inFUComp project is an essential part
of an integrated composites solution package
and will provide a unique opportunity to move
forward with composites simulation and to
develop new tools in collaboration with leading
research and industrial aerospace partners,”
said Dr. Anthony Pickett, Scientific director at
ESi GmbH.
Coordinator: ESi GmbH
mergenthalerallee 15-21
65760 Eschborn - GErmanY
Phone: +49 (0)6196 9583 0
Fax: +49 (0) 6196 9583 111
E-mail: anthony.pickett@esi-group.com
p a r t n e r h i g h l i g h t s
infusion (lri) technologies to compete with
expensive and complex prepreg composite
technologies.
The Research Consortium team included
Airbus, Eurocopter, FACC, Toho Tenax Europe,
Sigmatex, Huntsman Advanced Materials (Switzerland)
GmbH, ESI Group, Cranfield University,
IPM Latvia, University of Patras and SICOMP.
P180 Aircraft
Courtesy : Piaggio Aero Industries
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/composites
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 17

p a r t n e r h i g h l i g h t s
ESI sponsors
the Student Formula
SAE Racing Team Pilsen
the University of West Bohemia succeeds in designing the front deformable part of a Formulastyle
race car thanks to pam-CraSH and Visual-Environment.
the University of West Bohemia (UWB) in pilsen,
Czech republic, joined the student design competition
- Formula SaE® - organized by SaE
international (Society of automotive Engineers).
the concept behind the competition is the
development of a small Formula-style race car
for a fictional manufacturing company. Each student
team designs, builds and tests a prototype
based on a series of rules, which is to be evaluated
for its potential as a production item.
the UWB team is the first team in Czech
republic to successfully complete the project
by creating a prototype which meets the set
criteria. the UWB team obtained the support
of mECaS ESi for the Formula’s deformable elements‘
design, where simulation was needed.
18
Formula UWB Racing Team Pilsen
Simulation of the front deformable element with PAM-CRASH
crash, impact & safety
simulation systems integration
3 questions for Jiri Koldinský, UWB team leader:
What are the main achievements of the team?
We consider the fabrication of the entire
Formula-style race car from the very beginning in
only 6 months as our major success. indeed, we
achieved this within a relatively small team, with
limited material support and minimum skills. our
goal was to participate in the Formula SaE italy
where students had the opportunity to show
their prototype; an objective that we reached.
How well did MECAS ESI support this project?
mECaS ESi provided the pam-CraSH and
Visual-Environment licenses free of charge to
the team, enabling us to efficiently design the
frontal deformable element. indeed, the front
part meets the safety requirements set in the
series of rules. this would have been difficult to
accomplish without mECaS ESi’s help. the company
gave us also valuable advices throughout
the project in regards to virtual prototyping.
Do you wish to further cooperate with
MECAS ESI?
definitely! next year, we will have to design a
lighter deformable part, project in which we will
appreciate mECaS ESi’s help and cooperation.
A B O U T F O R M U L A S A E ®
Formula SAE® promotes careers and excellence
in engineering as it encompasses all aspects of
the automotive industry including research,
design, manufacturing, testing, developing,
marketing, management and finances. Formula
SAE takes students out of the classroom and
allows them to apply textbook theories to real
work experiences.
www.students.sae.org
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/virtual-performancesolutionwww.esi-group/simulation-systems-integration
www.uwbformula.cz
esi talk

crash, impact & safety
Virtual Performance Educational
Package initiates students to simulation
ESi is present in the academic community
through active collaborations on research
and development projects, and more recently
through educational programs. indeed, with the
release of a Virtual performance Educational
package, ESi makes its Virtual performance
Solution accessible to undergraduate and
masters students in a special version for Finite
Element simulation.
offering an easy-learning introduction to simulation
basics, the package enables static and
modal analyses (implicit solver) as well as crash/
impact simulation (pam-CraSH explicit solver)
through self-learning tutorials based on automotive
and aerospace case studies.
“tutorials using pam-CraSH explicit finite element
code are an integral part of the Finite
vibro-acoustics
Elements and materials modeling module
of the advanced materials mSc course at
Cranfield University. the students use the soft-
ware to reinforce their learning on explicit finite
element technologies, whilst investigating real
life impact problems. the tutorials provided
by ESi allow a very efficient introduction to
the pre- and post- processing tools”, declared
Dr. Alex Skordos, academic fellow at Cranfield
University in the UK. “the Virtual performance
Educational package is an extremely useful
teaching tool which ties very well with our
research activities”.
the Virtual performance Educational package
is free for students and teachers during the
first 6 months and is available for download at
www.esi-educational.com.
VA One v2009.0 includes advanced
models of foam and fibers
poroelastic materials such as foams and fibers
are an important part of the design of quiet
products with superior noise and vibration performance.
the Va one 2009.0 release includes
improved functionality for modeling foams and
fibers at low frequencies using foam finite elements;
and also at mid and high frequencies
including automatic calculation of treatment
coverage from Cad or FE data.
originally developed as part of a long term
research project between ESi Group and several
leading universities, this functionality is now
fully integrated within the Va one environment.
“modeling the vibro-acoustic response of
poroelastic materials is one of our core areas of
research”, said Pr. Noureddine Atalla, acoustic
department at the University of Sherbrooke.
“our ongoing collaboration with ESi Group on
the research, development and implementation
of these methods has proven to be fruitful as
shown in Va one latest release”.
“Va one version 2009.0 is the result of a long
term collaboration with our research partners
and provides our customers with state-of-theart
methods for modeling poroelastic materials”,
said Dr. Phil Shorter, director of Vibro-acoustic
product operations, ESi Group. “the Va one
2010 release will also be available shortly and
includes a large number of enhancements
across all modules.”
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/va-one
p r o d u c t n e w s
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/educational
Tutorial 5: Frontal crash of
a simplified truck model
Modeling the low frequency response of
a seat in VA One using
Biot foam finite elements
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 19

p r o d u c t n e w s
Faster, optimized distortion
and stress analyses with Visual-WELD
ESi’s Welding Simulation Suite, complemented
by Visual-WEld dedicated user interface,
offers today the full set of welding engineering
methodologies needed by designers, process
planners and manufacturing practitioners.
Simplicity being the key, Visual-WEld allows
faster and accurate distortion and weld quality
virtual engineering at any stage of product
design and manufacturing. indeed, Visual-WEld
helps reach a stress minimized welding assembly
within tolerances at minimal cost, respect
customer’ specifications and secure the
production.
Knowing that the failure of even the simplest
weld can cause the failure of the entire
design, Visual-WEld helps control component
weld quality in terms of temperature, microstructure
and residual stresses. Consequently,
it enables engineers to avoid problems such as
overheating in critical repair situations, stress
corrosion cracking as well as crack initiation due
to tensile stresses at the wrong place. Engineers
are also able to produce uniform stress distribution
and uncover hot stress spots all over the
design due to the welding fabrication process
that would have a negative impact on the
fatigue life.
Visual-WEld is also the latest simulation tool
developed within ESi’s Visual-Environment, inte-
20
“ V i s u a l - W E l d w a s
d e s i g n e d w i t h t h e
objective of allowing
our customers to benefit
easily from more than 100
grated and collaborative software environment,
encompassing the complete workflow for realistic,
physics-based Virtual prototyping. in fact,
ESi has included all multi-physics involved in
Welding Simulation within Visual-Environment
latest release 6.0 to offer a fully industrialized
collaborative software environment, including
the following major components:
• Visual-Mesh, complete pre-processing meshing
tool which supports Cad import, 2d and
3d meshing and editing for linear and parabolic
meshes;
• Visual-WELD, dedicated workflow-based
welding simulation interface that enables
Single-pass and multi-pass Welding simulations.
the complete workflow is represented
with sequential and intuitive steps. the set up
requires the minimum amount of input and
allows engineers to be fully operational within
a few hours.
• Visual-Viewer, post-processing tool with
advanced plotting utilities. it allows the display,
synchronization and animation of several
computed physical quantities at the same
welding & heat treatment
simulation systems integration
men-years of experience
in welding simulation.”
Dr. Frederic Boitout,
Welding project manager,
ESi Group Visual-WELD: Simplicity is the key
time, and the comparison of result variants.
it is easy and straightforward to identify and
understand problems and thus take the necessary
actions to improve the welded design
or its fabrication.
“included in the latest version of Visual-
Environment, Visual-Weld delivers a great combination
of intuitive interface and simulation
of the physics of materials in this domain. our
customers are already excited about the possibilities
this new Welding Simulation Suite brings
to improve their welded products and welding
processes”, declared Dr. yannick Vincent,
Welding product manager, ESi Group.
for more information:
www.esi-group.com/welding
www.esi-group.com/visual-environment
esi talk

VisualDSS features in Oracle
Partners Innovation
2009 magazine
VisualdSS is an open environment enabling the
building and management of simulation models
for multi-domain usage, the automation of
project workflow, and the management of
simulation content and data. With VisualdSS,
ESi delivers an advanced End-to-End decision
Support system to further leverage enterprise
best practices and increase the value of
simulation.
ESi has empowered VisualdSS with oracle
latest technologies and product architecture to
further optimize simulation process and data
management. VisualdSS thus responds to the
market’s needs in simulation to enable numeri-
PROCESSWorks is recognized
as ‘having educational value’
Today’s students are tomorrow’s professionals!
this is why Computer-aided design (Cad) and
Computer-aided Engineering (CaE) providers
partner to provide students with the advanced
simulation tools they need for successful careers.
proCESSWorks, provided by CadWarE, first
SolidWorKS reseller for Education in the
World in 2009, is one of the best examples.
First software platform for the simulation of
pre-industrialization processes operating with
a unique user interface within SolidWorks,
proCESSWorks provides students with a multidomain
solution for Cutting and Bending, Sheet
cal tests and to reduce the cost and time of
physical tests.
W h y i s V i s u a l D S S
innovative?
in a customer ecosystem consisting of heterogeneous
applications and scattered simulation
data making the collaborative work of multidisciplinary
teams difficult, VisualdSS brings
an effective answer thanks to centralized data
management. VisualdSS, with its management
of simulation data, facilitates sharing and
exploiting data spreading updates, as well as
pooling best practices. VisualdSS thus becomes
metal Forming, Forging, machining, Casting, and
plastic injection. indeed, the multi-domain platform
includes six different software from five
CadWarE partners, among which ESi’s Casting
and Sheet metal Forming software.
From a given part’s specification, the student has
the opportunity to use different simulation software
to study and validate the feasibility of that
part or its modifications involving other materials
or other procurement methods. Each simulation
software is very easy to use and contains
the essential business parameters ensuring the
student will obtain relevant results quickly.
c o r p o r a t e
the “Knowledge Base of Calculation” inside the
company.
oracle database enables storing and manipulating
data that ranges from product classification
attributes to models and voluminous simulation
results, and visual representations of key
results, efficiently and securely using a unique
technology.
for more information:
www.oracle.com/fr
www.esi-group.com/alliances/partners
to help teachers who use multimedia educational
tools, the French ministry of national
Education grants labels to software and multimedia
designs that meet the needs and
expectations of the educational system. as
proCESSWorks includes several documentary
and pedagogical resources which are accessible
in an easy and intuitive interface, the application
was awarded the label “recognized as
having educational value” (reconnu d’intérêt
pédagogique, rip) on February 3rd, 2010.
“proCESSWork’s labelling recognizes its quality
for educational purposes and is the result of a
successful collaborative work with our partners”,
said Jean-Luc Cottin, director, CadWarE.
for more information:
www.cadware.fr/education/processworks.htm
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 21

c o r p o r a t e
Upcoming Expert Seminars
Thanks to a team of carefully selected international experts and intimate setting of the course, engineers and scientists learn to overcome industrial
challenges and acquire best practices in the discipline chosen.
22
Composites Expert Seminar
Discover latest advancements in
composites modeling
Confirmed speakers:
• prof. Christophe Binetruy,
• dr. anthony pickett, ESi, Germany
EnStim – doUai, France
• mr. Jérôme raynal, ppE, France
• prof. philippe Boisse, inSa lyon, France
• dr. alex Skordos,
• dr. argiris Kamoulakos, ESi, France
Cranfield University, UK
• prof. Stepan lomov,
• dr. magnus Svanberg,
Katholieke Universiteit leuven, Belgium Swerea SiComp Sa, Sweden
• mr. Serge mouton,
Université Bordeaux 1 – lmp, France
find out more: www.esi-group.com/composites-expert-seminar
When?
Oct 4-5, 2010
Save the date!
June 30-July 1, 2010 INNOV’SAIL 2010
June 22, 2010 Vdot Seminar
June 29-30, 2010 VA One Infodays
Sept 14, 2010 2010 ESI CFD Users’ Conference
Sept 8-9, 2010 NAFEMS Virtual Conference 2010
oct 4-5, 2010 Composites Expert Seminar
oct 5-7, 2010 Hotforming Expert Seminar
oct 20-22, 2010 IDMME - Virtual Concept 2010
oct 26-28, 2010 Texcomp 10
Where?
Bordeaux, France
nov 16-17, 2010 VDI SIMVEC 2010
nov 18-19, 2010 ESI Japan Users Forum 2010
Hotforming Expert Seminar
Meet the industry’s top experts in
hotforming
find out more: www.esi-group.com/hotforming-expert-seminar
When?
Nov 2010, dates to be announced...
Contact: expert.seminars@esi-group.com / +49 (0)6196 9583 178
2nd international Conference on innovation in
High performance Sailing Yachts organized by
rina (royal institution of naval architects)
lean project and process management Seminar
focusing on new methods for better planning,
execution and management
learn about Va one simulation environment for
Vibro-acoustic analysis and design
technical exchange between CFd-aCE+ users, as
well as a chance to preview upcoming technical
advancements
2020 Vision of Engineering analysis and Simulation
hosted by ESi north america
Expert Course on Composites modeling to
understand how multi-domain simulation can
contribute to the advanced composites parts
development
Expert Course on press Hardening processes in
collaboration with ap&t
9th international Conference on integrated,
interactive and Virtual product Engineering
10th international Conference on textile
Composites
15th international Congress & Exhibition for
Calculation and Simulation in automotive
ESi’s 21st Japanese Users Conference and Exhibition
on Virtual prototyping
lorient, France
El Segundo, California, USa
dresden and munich, Germany
Santa Clara, California, USa
online
Bordeaux, France
rome, italy
talence, France
lille, France
Baden, Germany
tokyo, Japan
Where?
Rome, Italy
esi talk

Users’ Conferences
Worldwide on
End-to-End Virtual
Prototyping
ESi Global Forum 2010, the first global users conference
on Virtual prototyping which took place
on may 19-20, 2010 in munich, Germany, offered
the opportunity to witness some of the ambitious
new projects undertaken by ESi customers worldwide showcasing the growing
importance of End-to-End Virtual prototyping and its already significant
benefits. designers, engineers, analysts and managers of customer and partner
companies from around the world and from various industries convened
to listen to over 100 presentations on End-to-End Virtual prototyping present
and future, and prepare for it collaboratively, dynamically and efficiently.
End-to-End Virtual prototyping anticipates the surprises coming from tests
made on real (hardware) prototypes by virtually fabricating, building and testing
the product in coherent progressive stages: part by part, component
per component and concurrently across multiple domains. a good Virtual
prototype enables at each step of the development cycle to test the performance,
margins and robustness on the virtual model under assessment, in
order to evaluate and correct, if needed, some critical aspects of the product
design or fabrication. its foundation is Virtual manufacturing, which relies
on a sharp knowledge of the physics of materials during manufacturing and
assembly processes to define in a realistic way the “as built” product.
End-to-End Virtual Prototyping enables product development teams to
produce concurrently quality results: accurate, for the right cost and at the
right time with impressive benefits.
ESi Global Forum was followed by ESi China Forum 2010, which took place
on may 27-28, 2010 in Beijing, China.
ESi’s next users conferences and exhibitions on Virtual prototyping will take
place on november 16, 2010 in Seoul, Korea and on november 18-19, 2010 in
tokyo, Japan.
Financial news
2009/2010 annual Sales
Good growth over the year
ESi Group’s annual total sales totalled 75.1 million euros, up +7.1% in actual
terms compared to the previous year.
Licensing: Improvement in the high rate of
repeat business
license Sales reached 54.1 million euros, up +2.9% in actual terms. the
installed base was up +6.4% on the previous year, with the rate of repeat
business reaching 85% in 2009/10 versus 77% in 2008/09 and new Business
falling by a moderate -7%.
Services: Confirming the successful integration
of Mindware
Service Sales came to 21.0 millions euros, an increase of +19.5% in actual
terms. in particular, mindware, a company consolidated in ESi’s books since
mid-december 2008, has reaffirmed its growth potential and its successful
integration within the Group, recording again a double-digit growth in
activity in 2009, with sales totalling 5.2 million euros.
Revenue breakdown per area
c o r p o r a t e
a more balanced breakdown in regards to the geographical split in activity
– 22% of sales for americas, 45% for Europe and 33% for asia – confirms
ESi Group’s international presence, credibility and appeal.
“ESi’s overall performance highlights two major lessons. Firstly, it provides
confirmation of our business model solidity, based on the annual rental
of our licenses and benefiting from a high level of repeat business, which
generates an enviable visibility in the current economic context. Secondly,
it indicates the endurance of our activity, which reflects the high value
proposition of our ‘Virtual prototyping Solutions’ sources of strategic
advantages increasingly sought-after in the current competitive environment.
this performance was achieved whilst keeping costs under control
and our teams on board. these factors give us confidence in the continuity
of our growth and profitability amplified by the gains of our business
sectors diversification,” concluded Alain de Rouvray, ESi Group’s Chairman
and CEo.
issue 39 | spring / summer 2010 23

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