ICAT Enhances Automotive Component Integrity with Altair HyperWorks®

• Analytics & Modeling - Computer Vision Software

• Automotive
• Finance & Insurance

• Product Research & Development
• Quality Assurance

• Experimentation Automation
• Time Sensitive Networking

• Testing & Certification

The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), a division of the National Automotive Testing and Research Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) Implementation Society (NATIS), is a leading automotive testing and R&D center in North India. ICAT's mission is to integrate advanced automotive technology to support the industry in component development for new classes of vehicles and develop cutting-edge technical expertise to expand upon an impeccable range of automotive services. However, the team faced significant challenges in achieving this mission. Previously, they conducted physical testing of automotive products, a method that risked losing both time and money if the product failed the test. Additionally, the team had to perform complex calculations to solve issues and arrive at accurate designs of products. These issues posed daunting challenges to the team and often turned into time-consuming tasks. To develop ICAT into a Centre of Excellence in component development for the automotive industry, the team needed efficient and validated CAE software tools that would enable them to find appropriate and quick solutions to real-world problems.

The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) is located in Gurgaon, a rapidly flourishing business hub in North India. ICAT is a division of the National Automotive Testing and Research Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) Implementation Society (NATIS), an independently registered society and an apex body for the implementation of NATRIP for the Government of India. ICAT is an ultra-modern Automotive Testing and R & D centre with a vision to evolve into a state-of-the-art automotive R & D hub. It aims to provide high-end automotive design, test, and validation services to the ever-growing automobile industry in the country.

ICAT invested in Altair HyperWorks, a robust CAE tool that they believed could help them achieve their quality benchmarks and timelines during new product designing and testing phases. ICAT selected HyperWorks during the Government of India’s NATRIP tender process for their CAE lab. Initially, the team worked on a few basic in-house projects. As their requirements grew, they started using HyperWorks for certifications to the bus industry. The ICAT team now uses Altair HyperWorks extensively for simulating automotive industry standards and is currently focused on simulating around 30 standards. They currently use Altair HyperMesh® and HyperCrash® as pre-processors, and Altair RADIOSS® and OptiStruct® as solvers. They use these robust software solutions to work on structural simulations like bus rollover testing, impact and crash simulations, and quasistatic loading applications. The ICAT team also has plans to support OEMs in their product development cycle and is keen to experience the capabilities of Altair NVH Director in the future.

• The Altair software suite has immensely helped the ICAT team in providing timely and appropriate solutions to their clients. The team utilized the potential of Altair software solutions and, in a short duration, developed capabilities in solving complex problems related to product failure during the testing phase. The extensive use of HyperWorks is fostering a culture of excellence and innovation at ICAT, which is helping them deliver better solutions to the automotive industry. It is also helping them in their internal research projects on automobiles and is thus proving to be a great platform for achieving greater heights in the field of automotive engineering. The ICAT team is extremely happy with the way in which Altair Engineering and DesignTech teams supported them during the simulation phase. In-person discussions and WebEx sessions with experts helped the team in understanding various features of the Altair software in great detail.

• The Altair software suite has enabled the ICAT team to respond to their clients with appropriate solutions to their product development problems well within deadlines.
• The improvement in ICAT’s turn-around-time has very positively impacted their clients’ time to market.
• Through the use of HyperWorks, the team rendered the physical testing process obsolete, thus saving a lot of time and money.