disciplines (stage 1 to stage 4). Based on a requirements definition by each of the
disciplines, a generic component engineering process is followed. The component
design provides the pace of the process (blue boxes). This complies with the
established situation in vehicle manufacturers, where product development represents the key business process. Contrary to the current practice, production engineering and environmental life cycle evaluation are included as continuous and
synergetic activities (white boxes). The sequence of engineering activities and
interplays between the disciplines is broken down into sub-activities and interchanges. All activities on a horizontal level are executed as concurrent activities. At
each stage, an interdisciplinary review is performed within defined milestones. This
does not only result in a stepwise narrowing of uncertainties and the identification
of interdisciplinary trade-offs, but also helps to sort out succeeding options while
dropping other alternatives as represented by the funnel and respective milestones
in Fig. 4. The main outcome of the engineering process are concepts for lightweight
components that comply to the disciplines’ requirements.
Stage 1 of the proposed process opens up a broad solution space for achieving
the desired technical parameters through different geometries, materials and manufacturing routes. This stands in opposition to current component development
processes, that rely on a strict breakdown of vehicle targets and thus limit variations
for the developed concepts as described in [20]. The second stage represents a
concept realisation with the assistance of analytic and simplified numeric calculations. As a result, further processing regards only a small number of concepts. The
third stage covers numeric studies as measures to enable a detailed design with final
specifications on material compositions as well as manufacturing routes for only
one or few concepts. The fourth stage deals with the optimization of the concept in
favour.
5 Discussion and Outlook
The introduction of hybrid lightweight structures poses new challenges on the
support of LCE in automotive development. While the effect of lightweight
structures on a broader sustainability perspective defines the overarching research
demands, the scope of the current research focuses on a technology perspective.
This enables to understand engineering activities and decisions on a micro-level to
allow a further integration into a broader LCE context. An increasing variety of
materials and manufacturing processes significantly widens the solution space in
conceptual development of hybrid structures. In result, LCE methods & tools need
further integration side-by-side to engineering design and production engineering.
Key requirements towards the adaption of LCE methods & tools have been derived
and the introduction of integrated engineering processes is elaborated. The
approach targets the requirements in a double sense: Firstly, the process ensures that
Conceptual Development of Hybrid …
189
disciplines, a generic component engineering process is followed. The component
design provides the pace of the process (blue boxes). This complies with the
established situation in vehicle manufacturers, where product development represents the key business process. Contrary to the current practice, production engineering and environmental life cycle evaluation are included as continuous and
synergetic activities (white boxes). The sequence of engineering activities and
interplays between the disciplines is broken down into sub-activities and interchanges. All activities on a horizontal level are executed as concurrent activities. At
each stage, an interdisciplinary review is performed within defined milestones. This
does not only result in a stepwise narrowing of uncertainties and the identification
of interdisciplinary trade-offs, but also helps to sort out succeeding options while
dropping other alternatives as represented by the funnel and respective milestones
in Fig. 4. The main outcome of the engineering process are concepts for lightweight
components that comply to the disciplines’ requirements.
Stage 1 of the proposed process opens up a broad solution space for achieving
the desired technical parameters through different geometries, materials and manufacturing routes. This stands in opposition to current component development
processes, that rely on a strict breakdown of vehicle targets and thus limit variations
for the developed concepts as described in [20]. The second stage represents a
concept realisation with the assistance of analytic and simplified numeric calculations. As a result, further processing regards only a small number of concepts. The
third stage covers numeric studies as measures to enable a detailed design with final
specifications on material compositions as well as manufacturing routes for only
one or few concepts. The fourth stage deals with the optimization of the concept in
favour.
5 Discussion and Outlook
The introduction of hybrid lightweight structures poses new challenges on the
support of LCE in automotive development. While the effect of lightweight
structures on a broader sustainability perspective defines the overarching research
demands, the scope of the current research focuses on a technology perspective.
This enables to understand engineering activities and decisions on a micro-level to
allow a further integration into a broader LCE context. An increasing variety of
materials and manufacturing processes significantly widens the solution space in
conceptual development of hybrid structures. In result, LCE methods & tools need
further integration side-by-side to engineering design and production engineering.
Key requirements towards the adaption of LCE methods & tools have been derived
and the introduction of integrated engineering processes is elaborated. The
approach targets the requirements in a double sense: Firstly, the process ensures that
Conceptual Development of Hybrid …
189