Local product life-cycle management (PLM) specialist CNC Design Consultants (CDC) has teamed up with vehicle producer Optimal Energy in the design of the first South African electrical car, the Joule. The plug-in electric vehicle was conceived by Optimal Energy and has been refined by automotive and design company Zagato’s Total Design Centre. “CDC is working closely with Optimal Energy to ensure a quality design,” says CDC MD Igal Filipovski. The car will reportedly go into production in 2013 and is on display this month at the Geneva Motor Show, in Switzerland.

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As one of CDC’s largest clients it gives us pleasure to show the progress and speed at which Optimal Energy has grown over the past year. Here is a press release stating their move forward into the future.

Optimal Energy, South African car manufacturer, will develop Joule, Africa’s first battery-powered vehicle, with the V6 solutions from Dassault Systèmes.

Optimal Energy will rely on CATIA and ENOVIA V6 for product design and data management. As well as ENOVIA 3DLIVE, to overcome the distance relationship of suppliers and partners and to be able to collaborate on the same model in real time over the Internet.

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Over 80% of 2009 Vehicles Debuting at Detroit Auto Show Designed in CATIA

Auburn Hills, Mich., January 13, 2009 – Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that CATIA, the company’s solution for virtual design, was used in the development of over 80 percent of the 24* introductory and concept vehicles making their world debut at the 2009 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) taking place at Cobo Hall in Detroit, January 11-25. Additionally, CATIA was utilized in the design of all NAIAS 2009 North American Car of the Year and 2009 North American Truck of the Year finalists. With the automotive industry under extreme duress and scrutiny, optimizing vehicle development processes to reduce cost and time to market without sacrificing creativity or quality are key goals.

CATIA, with its knowledgeware capability, is able to positively and significantly impact these areas. Through the use of CATIA’s automated design templates, designers can streamline and standardize the design process. This creates ‘free engineering’ time to invest in innovation and deliver additional benefits in each concurrent model that is based upon that set of templates. Knowledge is accumulated and stored in a single data base for real-time sharing. Changes in design specifications are automatically propagated across all involved disciplines to ensure that everyone is working with the most current data. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) technology is increasingly impacting design as new capabilities allow collaboration between all the involved parties from creators to collaborators to consumers. Studies show that there exists a strong correlation between a company’s ability to find new uses for information and its ability to innovate.

Today, many of the automakers across the world are using Dassault Systèmes’ PLM solutions, such as CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, and 3DVIA. These solutions enable manufacturers to develop and optimize vehicle design and manufacturing processes in the virtual world to deliver higher quality products in a shorter time, at a reduced cost. The Dassault Systemes’ PLM portfolio offers increased engineering excellence, expanding PLM deeper into production cycles, accelerating PLM adoption for mid-size companies, broadening IP lifecycle management and further integrating the enterprise ecosystem. In addition, Dassault Systèmes’ DELMIA Automation virtual commissioning solution has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious 2009 Automotive News PACE Awards, recognized around the world as the industry’s symbol of innovation, technological advancement and business performance among automotive suppliers.

BMW signs up for 5 year Catia & Simulia deal for Sustainability and the V6 shift

Dassault Systemes has announced that BMW has signed a strategic 5-year global agreement to “pave the way to meet the automotive market’s new challenges.” According to the press release, “Through this agreement, the companies will establish a close link between their research & development centers that will not only improve the DS automotive product offering but also the BMW development and production process. Dassault Systemes software solutions support BMW in core areas for design and manufacturing process planning with Catia as the backbone for product development.”

The necessity to reduce C02 emission levels has forced automotive manufacturers to reshape their business processes to deliver greener cars. Fully embracing the cause of leaving a minimum carbon footprint on the planet, the implementation of the DS solutions will help automakers conceive, analyze and simulate eco-friendly low-emission vehicles like the Project I, a new Megacity vehicle, optimized for better performance and low energy consumption.

The BMW Concept ActiveE is powered by a new synchronous electric motor specially developed for this vehicle. Its maximum output is 125 kW/170 bhp, the maximum torque of 250 Nm / 184 lb-ft is available from standing as is typical for electric motors and remains available over an unusually broad load range.

The release also gave details of what BMW would be using:

By consolidating design in a single PLM software platform BMW can tap into “proven design” concepts and re-use them across all product lines achieving time savings in the design and manufacturing of new cars. The single platform also enables all designers, including development partners in the supply chain, to collaborate, which is another factor in streamlining the design process. Simulia realistic simulation solutions combined with Catia further allow BMW to virtually test their vehicle’s real-world performance early in the development cycle which helps improve product quality, while reducing time and cost of physical testing.

What’s also a small note in the press release is that:

“The agreement also defines a set of strategic projects where BMW will evaluate possible migration paths that ensure a smooth transition to Dassault Systèmes V6 PLM solutions for all its vehicle development programs.”

BMW already use Catia V5 and have been a flagship user for many years. This Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) that’s integrated in exhaust gas recirculation systems is typical.

There are many rumours and tales of unhappiness amongst many Dassault customers with the introduction of V6 – in both the small and very large account, with some major customers allegedly looking at a shift in platform for their product development. This shows that for some, and BMW have been a key account for DS for decades, the decision has already been made and the transition is a part of their long term strategy.

VW UP lite Concept Car

LOS ANGELES, December 9, 2009  Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that CATIA, the company’s solution for virtual design, was used in the development of over 80 percent* of all the vehicles on display at the 2010 LA Auto Show, open to the public through December 13, 2009. The use of the CATIA solution has proven exceptionally strong (85%) in the Green Ride & Drive vehicles, which are experimental models that offer high efficiency, low environmental impact or run on a variety of alternative fuels. The Green Car Journal’s 2010 Green Car of the Year, as well as the 2010 International Car and Truck of the Year awards announced during the LA Auto Show were also all designed in CATIA.

It has long been recognized that implementation of CATIA allows automakers to reduce vehicle development cost and bring product to market more quickly. In addition to bringing efficiency to the process, CATIA allows more time for innovation and testing of different design features that can help reduce energy consumption, such as rolling  resistance, aerodynamics, and vehicle weight, to name a few.

As automakers endeavor to meet today’s aggressive emission standards, vehicle system complexity will continue to increase as hybrid and other advanced powertrain technologies become increasingly prevalent.  To help with this, Dassault Systèmes next generation V6 platform provides an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach to product development where all engineering domains and solutions are linked together in a common and dynamic engineering template. Components from multiple disciplines, as well as the numerous interactions between them, are modeled in the authoring environment of CATIA to enable dynamic simulation of the complete system via a virtual prototype. This allows all systems (mechanical, electronic, software) to be dynamically tested and validated together to improve system performance, reduce cost, and maximize reliability of these critical systems. 

The L.A. Auto Show runs from December 4 – 13 and takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  For more information, visit http://www.laautoshow.com/.

*Numbers based upon LA Auto Show confirmed vehicles as of November 23, 2009