Thinking about the realization of virtual assembly in automobile enterprises

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Thinking about the realization of virtual assembly in automobile enterprises [Copy link]

This article briefly discusses the purpose, tools, steps, and significance of virtual assembly in automobile enterprises; at the same time, based on the problems and experiences encountered in the implementation of virtual assembly, some thoughts and suggestions are put forward for automobile enterprises to implement virtual assembly.

1. Current status of virtual assembly at home and abroad

In recent years, the competition in the world machinery manufacturing market has become increasingly fierce. In order to adapt to the rapidly changing market demand, product development cycle, quality, cost, and service have become issues that every modern enterprise must face. The practice in the past 20 years has proved that the application of information technology to the development of new products and the transformation of implementation methods is the only way for modern enterprises to survive and develop. At the same time, advanced product development methods, means, and implementation methods are actually the most favorable guarantee for product development quality, cost, design cycle, etc. Take Boeing as an example. In the display of the digital representative product-Boeing 777, unlike in the past, it did not focus on promoting the superior performance of the new aircraft itself, but emphasized how they made full use of digital development technology and the reorganization of product development personnel. The key to the successful completion of the Boeing 777 aircraft project was the effective implementation of the 3D digital design and integrated product development team IPT (238 teams in total), which ensured that the aircraft design, assembly, testing and flight test were all completed on the computer. The development cycle was shortened from 8 years to 5 years, and the engineering design concept of virtual assembly played a huge role in the development process. "Virtual Assembly" is an important link in the digital definition of products and has been widely applied and studied in the fields of virtual technology and simulation. There are usually two definitions:

(1) Virtual assembly is a process of repositioning part models according to constraint relationships and is a means of effectively analyzing the rationality of product design. This definition emphasizes that virtual assembly technology is a process of repositioning and analyzing models. (2) Virtual assembly is to

simulate the 3D assembly process of the product based on the shape characteristics and precision characteristics of the product design, and allows users to interactively control the 3D real simulation assembly process of the product to verify the assemblability of the product. With the intensified competition

in the global automobile manufacturing market, how to improve the quality of automobile products, accelerate the research and development of product design and shorten the manufacturing cycle has always been a problem facing the automobile manufacturing industry. Computer technology plays an important role in automobile design and manufacturing today. Various design software such as Pro/E, UG, CATIA, etc. have been widely used in various aspects of automobile design. The rapid development of computer technology has created conditions for the integrated and intelligent development of automobile manufacturing and assembly. In particular, the application of virtual reality technology has made it possible to visualize the automobile manufacturing process. This automobile design and manufacturing based on virtual reality technology is the application of computer digital information technology to automobile research and development. It has achieved a leap in two levels for the automobile research and development process: one is that the assembly process of the product can be virtually realized in the design stage; the other is that the visual simulation manufacturing process can be analyzed and evaluated in advance.

Automobile research and development companies can make full use of electronic virtual assembly to first test the product on the computer before trial production, and timely discover the static or dynamic interference between or within the systems generated during the design process. It can also be used to simulate the performance of components such as suspension systems, steering systems, transmission systems, powertrains, leaf spring characteristics, and vehicle performance such as handling stability, smoothness, and braking stability. In addition, it can be used for electronic prototypes, assembly process analysis, product display, etc. in a deeper sense.

At present, a large number of professional virtual assembly tool software have emerged at home and abroad, such as UGS's UG ProductVision, PTC's Division MockUp, and IBM's Enovia Portal DMU. These relatively mature virtual assembly tool software have their own advantages in the automotive industry. However, each company has its own unique management and technical characteristics, and each company's virtual assembly software is developed from the company's CAD software. Therefore, the selection of appropriate tool software is very important for companies preparing to implement virtual assembly. In an enterprise that uses Pro/E as the mainstream CAD software to implement product development, it is generally more appropriate to choose Division MockUp.

2. Virtual assembly workflow

First of all, the virtual assembly process submits an electronic data model, not a drawing. Virtual assembly and model design are closely linked and cooperate with each other.

The virtual assembly workflow begins with the submission of the electronic model of the parts and ends with the formation of the final inspection report.

Virtual assembly workflow diagram:

3. Virtual assembly implementation must be closely integrated with the enterprise's R&D process and requires the support of multiple resources.

(1) Establish an enterprise network and engineering database, initially realize the integration of CAD and PDM, promote feature modeling technology, enable product development to achieve parallel engineering within the enterprise, ensure that virtual assemblers and product designers can exchange information in a timely manner, ensure that virtual assemblers can obtain design 3D data in a timely manner, and product designers can receive rectification information from virtual assemblers in a timely manner.

(2) Virtual assembly must be integrated into the enterprise's product development process. For the development of new products, sufficient time must be reserved for virtual assembly to ensure that virtual assembly can play a role in testing the quality of design. For the development of a new model, generally at least two months of electrical assembly time is required.

(3) The implementation steps of virtual assembly itself also need to have corresponding standards. For automotive products, first determine the assembly sequence of virtual assembly. Secondly, clearly define that each assembly has specific product designers who use CAD software to check it themselves, and that the assembly relationship and interference check between systems are the responsibility of special virtual assemblers. That is, clarify the responsibilities of the corresponding personnel in the virtual assembly process.

(4) Virtual assembly finally needs to submit an inspection report. The format of the inspection report should have a fixed template to facilitate the filler and the user. The main content can be agreed on in the template to guide the virtual assembler who fills in the inspection report to complete the corresponding inspection items and inspection conclusions.

(5) Product designers can rebuild the product model and modify the product size based on the inspection report to meet the requirements of the vehicle design.

(6) The virtual assembler conducts the corresponding electrical inspection according to the designer's modified model. After confirming that it is correct, the product trial production is organized according to the company's development process.

4. Virtual assembly requires strict specifications to support

the implementation of virtual assembly by automobile companies. First, a strict operating specification needs to be defined to ensure it. The virtual assembly specification should include:

(1) Role definition. Confirm the responsibilities and authority that relevant designers and professional virtual assemblers should bear.
(2) Virtual assembly requirements. Make clear agreements on the integrity, accuracy, assembly benchmarks, and import of external data required for virtual assembly.
(3) Virtual assembly implementation steps. Develop virtual assembly steps suitable for the company to ensure that virtual assemblers have unified operating specifications.
(4) Virtual assembly inspection items.

5. The significance of virtual assembly in automobile enterprises:

Virtual assembly simulates the imaginary manufacturing activities. It does not need to organize production, consume display resources and energy, and the process is a virtual process. The assembled products are virtual.

In the process of virtual assembly, problems that may occur in design and manufacturing can be found, and measures can be taken before the actual production of the product to ensure the one-time success of the product, thereby reducing costs and shortening the product development cycle. It can quickly carry out variant designs according to user needs or market changes to enhance product competitiveness.

6. Some thoughts on the implementation of virtual assembly

The application research of virtual assembly has just started in domestic R&D enterprises. Whether in the product research and development in the fields of ships, aircraft, automobiles, etc., or in the development of other light industrial products, people have gradually realized the great role and development potential that virtual assembly can play. The assembly ideas adopted in the design process of automobile products have changed the R&D habits and concepts of product R&D personnel. The adoption of reasonable virtual assembly application methods, the formulation of standardized virtual assembly standards, and the establishment of certain organizational structures are the core products for realizing virtual assembly. The reasonable management

and flow of three-dimensional data and product structure data in the R&D process are the basis for realizing virtual assembly. It is best for electrical equipment personnel and product designers to communicate on the same platform system to ensure that virtual assembly adds a reliable verification method for product development.