Product-Only Virtual Build
Project challenges
High-value product development often faces significant risks and issues during the assembly process, leading to increased time and costs. “Virtual Build” (VB) is a set of digital tools and methods used by MTC to tackle these challenges.
Business challenge
Process Innovation
Sector
Power & Energy
Technology or capability
Process Design
Digital Manufacturing
High-value product development often faces significant risks and issues during the assembly process, leading to increased time and costs.
“Virtual Build” (VB) is a set of digital tools and methods used by MTC to tackle these challenges. By simulating the assembly process early in the development phase, VB identifies potential risks and issues before any physical components are made. This proactive approach allows for effective mitigation strategies such as the implementation of 'design-for-assembly'; thus saving time, reducing costs, and ensuring that products are optimised for efficient assembly. Over several years, MTC has refined this technique through numerous projects in the automotive, aerospace, and energy sectors.
When focusing on the product only, VB projects are delivered via the following stages:
- Assembly sequence development: mapping the step-by-step assembly process
- Virtual Build simulation: use of Siemens Process Simulate to create a full 3D simulation of the assembly process
- Virtual Build Event(s): detailed assessment of the simulated assembly process; identification of issues, and generation of suggested mitigations to optimise the process
In this example, VB is harnessed to generate a full run-through of the assembly sequence for an MTC-designed novel electric motor, using 3D CAD data. The assembly sequence is assessed against a range of standardised criteria, to explore issues such as access for required tooling and ergonomic factors. This exercise identifies risks or issues with the product and assembly process, and captures opportunities for improvement.
Where budgets and timescale allows, VB is ideally an iterative process, conducting several Virtual Build “Events” as required, in order to assess the impact of iterative design-for-assembly alterations and/or assembly process improvements.
Conducting a product-only Virtual Build project ensures that the product and the build strategy are optimised, efficient, and suitable to be conducted safely; prior to executing the assembly of the physical product.
Virtual build is a powerful capability within MTC for manufacturing businesses to exploit in developing their products and manufacturing operations, allowing business' to explore different options and choosing ones that align with their strategic goals. Developed over many years, Virtual Build is an example of MTC supporting manufacturing organisations by way of Engineering Excellence.
Benjamin Bollans, Chief Engineer
Objectives
- Apply the “Virtual Build” methodology to support virtual validation of a product’s design and assembly sequence
- Identify and define opportunities for improvement in either the current product design and/or assembly sequence
- Gain a 360-degree perspective of components and/or final product throughout the assembly steps
- Get a better visibility on clearances between components particularly when following a glide-path into position
- Identify challenges and risks with the assembly process including tooling & fixturing, lifting & handling and human factors
MTC's Solution
- Standardised approach to virtual validation with a product-only virtual build simulation and assessment
- Virtual Build simulation of the product visually demonstrating the approach likely needed to build the product
- An assessed simulation using agreed criteria to identify any concerns highlighted by the simulation
- Collated recommended actions from the assessment helping to reduce identified risks and/or severity of the concerns identified
The Outcome
- A validated and/or refined product assembly sequence
- A full 3D simulation of the assembly process, which visually validates the proposed product assembly approach
- Identification of challenges associated with each step of the assembly process, captured using an “Assessment Matrix” tool which provides an overall metric for the ‘’production readiness’’ of the process
- An array of proposed mitigation strategies to address the identified challenges
Benefits to the Client
- Visual representation of the assembly sequence from a range of angles and perspectives, offering a unique perspective which may not be obtainable with a physical product
- Validation of the assembly sequence for the product early in development; i.e., before committing to physical manufacture of any components
- Opportunity to rapidly create and investigate the impact of changes to the design and/or assembly sequence
- Pre-emptively identify risks within the process sequence and corresponding mitigation strategies before doing any physical prototyping
- Ability to prioritise areas for improvement and rapidly understand the impact of these on the ‘production readiness’ of the product and assembly process
