Virtual Engineering
At Bremar, we help businesses that design and develop their own products to cut their development costs, reduce their time to market and gain increased confidence in their designs using the latest, high-end Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools.
Advantages of Using CAE Tools
- An in-depth understanding of your product’s capabilities.
- Rapid and inexpensive design iterations.
- Cost savings through reduced reliance on physical testing.
- A working computer model of your design.
- Images and animations showing your product in action.
- A back-to-back comparison of your original design with any proposed modifications so you can actually see how changes improve performance.
3D Scanning allows physical parts to be captured digitally and imported into CAD for visualisation, measurement, stress analysis and a range of other uses.
Whether you’re designing a chassis in CAD to suit an existing engine, reverse engineering a mockup part for manufacture, or needing to understand whether an existing part will be strong enough for a particular application, 3D scanning is a vital tool to ensure speed and accuracy.
3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) allows detailed design and visualisation of your part and the creation of assemblies and sub assemblies to ensure correct fitment with existing componentry.
3D CAD models can then be fed directly into FEA software for stress analysis and design validation, or CNC machine tools and 3D printers to ensure the highest degree of manufacturing accuracy in the least amount of time.
We can create photo realistic images using your CAD models for use in sales presentations and marketing materials too. This significantly increases the value of your existing CAD by using photo rendering to create a ‘virtual’ photo shoot, even before you have a physical part.
We also use Virtual Reality (VR) to add another dimension of realism to your CAD models, allowing you to experience your product as close to real life as possible. Pick it up, walk around it, visualise it at full scale in an ultra realistic design review using the latest VR technology.
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) takes your 3D CAD model and applies loads and calculates deflections, stresses and strains within the part – think of it as a virtual stress test, giving detailed insight into a part’s performance and allowing for rapid design iterations to be made, all without the lead times and costs associated with having physical prototype parts made and tested.
Areas of high stress can be identified and strengthened, while areas of low stress can have excess material removed, resulting in a lighter, stronger design.
Our dedicated FEA engineers use world-class software and have validated our modelling methods against physical tests to ensure accuracy for the most complex FEA projects and provide you with confidence in your designs before they’re even made.
Multi body dynamics (MBD) simulates mechanical systems involving moving parts and dynamic motion. MBD can be used to calculate the motion of a simple linkage right through to something as complex as an automotive suspension system with springs, dampers, bushings and pneumatic tyres.
Full vehicle handling can also be simulated using MBD, allowing virtual prediction of how a car or truck would perform, and the tuning of springs and dampers before the vehicle is even built.
MBD analysis can be performed on any mechanism to ensure the desired motion is achieved, determine clearance envelopes to package other components around in CAD, and also extract dynamic loads from anywhere within the system.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) involves the simulation of fluid flow over external surfaces or through internal geometry such as ducts. Our software allows us to calculate external aerodynamic effects on a vehicle in a virtual wind tunnel environment with nothing more than a CAD model – no expensive prototype parts required, no wind tunnel needed, and test parameters or design changes can be quickly and easily assessed.
Effects such as wheel rotation, ground movement and even component deflection under load can also be included in our modelling so you can be confident that all the important factors affecting the results are covered, whether you’re looking at the overall lift and drag characteristics of a whole vehicle or calculating aero loads on a single component.
Internal flow through brake ducts, intake and exhaust manifolds or automotive HVAC systems are also ideal candidates for CFD to ensure suitable flow rates, pressure drops and overall system performance. Whether you’re looking to reduce fuel consumption or find those few precious tenths on the track, contact us now to discuss how we can use these tools to your advantage.
Simulation based optimisation uses cutting edge methodology and computer algorithms to help find an optimal design to ensure your specified criteria are met. This could be finding the ideal shape of a part to make it as light as possible while still being able to withstand the required loads, or finding the optimal locations for joints in a mechanism to provide the required motion.
These optimisation tools are tightly integrated with our FEA and MBD simulations, as well as having the capability to optimise a range of other numerical models and systems. Conventional methodology takes an iterative approach of design, test, modify, which can be expensive and time consuming. Optimisation techniques, on the other hand, automate the iterative cycle and significantly reduce the amount of manual input required when designing a part or system, resulting in a more efficient design in a fraction of the time. Tell us what you’re looking to achieve and we’ll tell you how these optimisation techniques can get you there fast.
Prototyping is an important part of any design process. After all the virtual design and simulation work is complete, and you have confidence in your design, the time will come to bring the concept to life in the form of a physical prototype.
Our team consists of experienced, hands on engineers who love seeing ideas move from the computer screen to real life. We understand first hand how to make that happen and select the appropriate manufacturing methods to ensure your prototype is built as efficiently as possible while still achieving its intended purpose.
Regardless of whether the prototype is a first cut for preliminary testing or a production intent part for final validation and sign off, Bremar has a range of in-house capabilities and external manufacturing partners that can produce a functional prototype of your design to the required specifications using traditional processes such as CNC machining, laser cutting, folding and welding, right through to the latest 3D printing and additive manufacturing methods.
