The automotive industry faces restricting governmental regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lightweight design has become essential for both fuel-powered vehicles, to decrease fuel consumption, and electric vehicles, to minimize battery weight and the associated raw materials’ demand. Additive Manufacturing (AM) offers the ability to produce highly complex components that are unfeasible with traditional manufacturing methods, positioning it as a promising solution for vehicle weight reduction. The thesis concerns the rear cradle of an electric car, which was initially manufactured using mainly tubular components through traditional methods. The goal is to assess to what extent the use of metal AM, as an additional production method, can improve the cradle's performance and reduce its final weight. This thesis begins by examining the current state of the automotive industry, the potential and limitations of AM, and the cradle production methods, providing a foundation for the development of the redesign process. For the redesign process, Laser Powder Bed Fusion was chosen as the AM process. Three subassemblies from the original cradle were selected for their potential to benefit from redesigning for AM and were optimized through an iterative redesign process based on Topology Optimization. One subassembly, the E2 Rear Bracket Assembly, was chosen for further geometry refinements. Finally, Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) principles were applied to reduce material usage and improve the production efficiency. The final redesigned geometry of E2 Rear Bracket Assembly, originally composed of six welded parts, was consolidated into a single component, achieving a 20% weight reduction while meeting all the requirements on stiffness, maximum load, and accidental load. This outcome highlights the potential of AM to contribute to weight reduction efforts in the automotive industry.
L'industria automobilistica deve affrontare normative governative restrittive volte a ridurre le emissioni di gas serra. Il lightweight design è diventato essenziale sia per i veicoli a combustione, per ridurre il consumo di carburante, sia per i veicoli elettrici, al fine di minimizzare il peso delle batterie e la relativa domanda di materie prime. L'Additive Manufacturing (AM) offre la possibilità di produrre componenti altamente complessi che non sono realizzabili con i metodi di produzione tradizionali, configurandosi come una soluzione promettente per la riduzione del peso dei veicoli. La tesi riguarda la culla posteriore di un'auto elettrica, che è stata inizialmente prodotta utilizzando principalmente componenti tubolari e metodi tradizionali. L'obiettivo è valutare in che misura l'uso del’AM di metalli, come metodo di produzione supplementare, possa migliorare le prestazioni della culla e ridurne il peso finale. Questa tesi inizia esaminando lo stato attuale dell'industria automobilistica, il potenziale e i limiti dell'AM e i metodi di produzione della culla, fornendo una base per lo sviluppo del processo di riprogettazione. È stato scelto il processo di Laser Powder Bed Fusion per la riprogettazione. Tre sottoassiemi della culla originale sono stati selezionati per il loro potenziale beneficio che potrebbero ottenere dalla riprogettazione per AM e sono stati ottimizzati attraverso un processo iterativo di riprogettazione basato sull'ottimizzazione topologica. Uno di questi sottoassiemi, il E2 Rear Bracket Assembly, è stato scelto per ulteriori affinamenti della geometria. Infine, sono stati applicati i principi del Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) per ridurre l'uso di materiale e migliorare l'efficienza produttiva. La geometria finale riprogettata del E2 Rear Bracket Assembly, originariamente composto da sei parti saldate, è stata consolidata in un unico componente, ottenendo una riduzione del peso del 20% e soddisfacendo tutti i requisiti di rigidezza, carico massimo e carico accidentale. Questo risultato evidenzia il potenziale dell'AM nel contribuire agli sforzi di riduzione del peso nell'industria automobilistica.
Redesign of an electric vehicle engine cradle for additive manufacturing
Lechien, Valentine
2023/2024
Abstract
The automotive industry faces restricting governmental regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lightweight design has become essential for both fuel-powered vehicles, to decrease fuel consumption, and electric vehicles, to minimize battery weight and the associated raw materials’ demand. Additive Manufacturing (AM) offers the ability to produce highly complex components that are unfeasible with traditional manufacturing methods, positioning it as a promising solution for vehicle weight reduction. The thesis concerns the rear cradle of an electric car, which was initially manufactured using mainly tubular components through traditional methods. The goal is to assess to what extent the use of metal AM, as an additional production method, can improve the cradle's performance and reduce its final weight. This thesis begins by examining the current state of the automotive industry, the potential and limitations of AM, and the cradle production methods, providing a foundation for the development of the redesign process. For the redesign process, Laser Powder Bed Fusion was chosen as the AM process. Three subassemblies from the original cradle were selected for their potential to benefit from redesigning for AM and were optimized through an iterative redesign process based on Topology Optimization. One subassembly, the E2 Rear Bracket Assembly, was chosen for further geometry refinements. Finally, Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) principles were applied to reduce material usage and improve the production efficiency. The final redesigned geometry of E2 Rear Bracket Assembly, originally composed of six welded parts, was consolidated into a single component, achieving a 20% weight reduction while meeting all the requirements on stiffness, maximum load, and accidental load. This outcome highlights the potential of AM to contribute to weight reduction efforts in the automotive industry.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/231301