HyperWorks Application for Global Engineering Design Instruction at Brigham Young University

• Robots - Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGV)
• Robots - Collaborative Robots

• Automotive
• Education

• Product Research & Development

• Manufacturing Process Simulation
• Vehicle Performance Monitoring

• Hardware Design & Engineering Services
• Training

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU) was faced with the challenge of reworking an advanced engineering design course, ME 471, which had been taught for over 30 years. The course, which consisted of classroom and laboratory components, emphasized theoretical concepts and practical CAE skills. The objective for reworking the course was to add the ability to network design projects so that term projects could be completed collaboratively by teams from various global engineering universities. The main challenge in course networking was to globalize the student learning experience by adding intercultural competency requirements. These included providing experience with working in or directing a team of ethnic or cultural diversity, understanding cultural influences on product design and manufacturing, and comprehending how cultural differences affect how engineering tasks are performed.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU) places a strong emphasis on educating mechanical engineering students to become leaders in applying advanced design techniques to develop new and innovative products. A key component of the department curriculum to meet these objectives is providing instruction that focuses on principles and procedures of multi-physical computer-aided-engineering (CAE). Dr. Greg Jensen, Fulton College Professor of Global Engineering, has led the department to develop innovative CAE instruction. His work has focused on the development of next generation, multi-user, collaborative cloud-based CAE tools and methods. Today a critical success factor for industrial product development is the ability of international companies to collaborate and communicate with a large network of technology providers, inventors, vendors, and manufacturers worldwide.

The ME 471 course was globalized by forming international teams representing universities that were members of the PACE (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education) Program. The course was modified by integrating new technologies (HyperWorks, Teamcenter Community, Google Docs, Video Conferencing Hardware) to support the work of the virtual student teams. New laboratory exercises were also developed to teach the new virtual collaboration technologies and design simulation methods. In addition to the course modifications, logistical infrastructure upgrades at BYU and partner universities were also completed. These included integration of classroom, CAE lab, and team meeting room video conferencing hardware. A term project assignment given to each team consisted of the architecture/chassis of an actual vehicle, which the team was directed re-design. Project tasks included CAD/CAE modeling of all vehicle components, subsystems, and final assembly based on the team engineering analysis.

• The application of HyperWorks in the course allowed for the successful completion of a team project, which involved re-engineering the chassis/suspension platform for a 1969 Chevrolet Camero. The team presented a comprehensive review of their re-design vehicle to a panel of PACE program representatives and partners. The team demonstrated a fundamental understanding of the underlying concepts of topology optimization and the key role it plays in conceptual, preliminary, and detailed product design. The team was able to apply the Altair HyperWorks simulation tools in a seamless manner with the Catia-based CAD data that was generated for the vehicle re-design.

• The chassis mass was reduced by 34% through the application of topology optimization.
• The suspension control arm mass was reduced by 28%.