This technical paper reports on a collaborative project with Sydow-Druckguss GmbH and two other organizations using simulation methods to assess and optimize process efficiency and enhance product quality early in the design process. In this project, Altair® Inspire™ Cast simulations successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using High-pressure die casting (HPDC) for actuator housing production. The comparison between the simulations and X-ray results from casting trials showed a high level of agreement, confirming the accuracy and reliability of Inspire Cast. This successful endeavor validates Inspire Cast as a high-precision casting simulation tool for the HPDC process.

To support the use of simulation tools in this endeavor, ABB in Spain enlisted the help of Altair ProductDesign's regional team, thanks to the company's experience in utilizing simulation tools to solve engineering challenges in the robotics industry. The project centered on improving the fatigue performance of a Twin Robot Xbar (TRX), one of ABB’s robotic part transfer systems that moves components between manufacturing stations.

The need to design more complex industrial machinery on shorter timelines means that companies ask engineers to do more with far less.

Chad Jackson, CEO of Lifecycle Insights, describes the digital approach to industrial machinery design and explains strategies leveraging Simulation, Data Science and High-Performance Computing. He shows how companies creating equipment that increases cycle speed and improves yields in this technical report.

The E-Book covers the following topics:

• THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE OF INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY
• ADDRESSING STRUCTURAL STRESS AND STIFFNESS
• ARCHITECTING AND VALIDATING SYSTEMS DESIGN
• SELECTING THE RIGHT ACTUATION COMPONENTS
• MITIGATING VIBRATION AND EXCITATION
• PLANNING AND VALIDATING CONTROLS DESIGN
• STREAMLINING COMMISSIONING
• MONITORING THROUGH FIELD DATA
• RECAP AND CONCLUSIONS

In a joint project MX3D, ABB, and Altair demonstrated how a 3D printed robot can be improved by using a digital twin process to achieve more precise positioning.