Increased Concurrency between Industrial and Engineering Design Using CAT Technology Combined with Virtual Reality

These days, when an industrial design concept is evaluated in an aesthetic manner, all models used are nominal. If the design is evaluated with nominal models, variation aspects and design solutions that would greatly influence the overall quality appearance might not be discovered until the first test series are made. By using nonnominal models during the design process, important geometric aspects can be issued, and the need for physical test series can be reduced. In the automotive industry, especially in body design, the relationships between doors, hoods, fenders and other panels are critical for quality appearance. This article suggests how combining traditional Computer Aided Tolerance (CAT) tools with modern Virtual Reality (VR) tools has the potential to enhance concurrency between industrial and engineering design and provide support for the geometry process in early phases. Traditional nonnominal verification can then already be conducted in the concept phase using digital models instead of physical. A VR-CAT tool supported geometry design process is proposed from a holistic point of view. Results and indications from a case study, where prescribed VR-CAT tool has been tried out in an on going project at Volvo Cars is presented.

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