Reducing weight to help win and withstand the rigors of a 24 hour Le Mans race
Applications
Key Software Capabilities
- Simulation
- Topology optimization
Summary
Lightweighting specialists as pro engineering used nTop lightweighting tools to design a differential cap for a Le Mans Hypercar (LMH). The cap needed to be as light as possible and optimized for the multiple loadings and harsh conditions it experiences throughout an endurance race.
About: as pro engineering ltd. is a specialist lightweighting R&D company focused on developing advanced lightweight structures for the world’s top hypercar manufacturers.
- Industry: Automotive
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Application: Lightweighting
The project
Optimizing a multifunctional differential cap
The differential cap is part of the gearbox housing on an LMH endurance racing car that performs multiple functions. It must be durable enough to withstand a 24-hour race but light enough to help improve the car’s performance. This complex part experiences over 20 individual loading conditions originating from the suspension, rear wing, and rear impact structure, making it an ideal target for lightweighting and topology optimization.
The challenge
Reduce weight, improve durability
Project ATOMS (Advanced Topology-Optimised Metallic Structures) is as pro engineering's in-house R&D program, dedicated to pushing the boundaries of lightweight engineering. The team selected this part as their next ATOMS project, to create a repeatable process that generates optimized structures for components experiencing multiple load cases: in this case, a combination of static and dynamic loads, fatigue concerns, and the thermal effects from the engine and gearbox.
The solution
Optimize for multiple load cases
Using the full complement of lightweighting tools in nTop, including topology optimization, the as pro R&D team were able to optimize the differential cap for several load cases at a time. The result was a new design that was light enough to deliver a potentially race-winning difference in performance. It was also optimized for additive manufacturing, eliminating expensive tooling costs.
The results
1 part
Consolidating 40 components
9%
Weight reduction
7.8 seconds
Faster performance over 24 hrs
£30,000
Savings in tooling
Why nTop?
The as pro R&D team chose nTop because it is capable of optimizing for multiple load cases simultaneously, which was critical for this application. The team was also attracted to nTop’s fast processing speeds for complex design work and automated workflows that feed directly into finite element analysis (FEA) of the given load cases.
Reusable workflows
The research team saved a great deal of time with nTop’s reusable workflows. To begin, they created a workflow to feed loading conditions into the FEA tool for simulation. This same workflow can be repurposed for any combination of load cases, eliminating the need to create a new workflow for every simulation and significantly reducing the engineering time required to set up similar design projects.
Explore variants quickly
Accelerating prototype development is essential for endurance racing, a sport dedicated to continuous innovation. With nTop, as pro engineering can test, correlate, and validate their design concepts with a 10x faster feedback loop. Iterating on new ideas more efficiently gives them (and their hypercar clients) an edge when it comes to developing race-winning designs.
Eliminate tooling costs
The differential cap was specifically designed for additive manufacturing, which removes the high costs of tooling in the previous magnesium cast design. The cost to manufacture the original part totaled approximately £30,000 ($39,362) between the cost of the material, the mold, the fixturing and machining. The cost of 3D printing the topology optimized cap would be £7,000, for a net savings of £23,000.
Conclusion
Lightweighting tools in nTop enabled a team of hypercar design specialists to develop a significantly lighter part that could deliver a race-winning difference in performance.
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