Gm Powertrain Design Verification at a Fraction of the Cost the Problem Gm Powertrain Group in Pontiac, Michigan, an Engineering Division Responsible for the Design and Manufacturing of Automobile Engines and

GM Powertrain

Design verification at a fraction of the cost

The Problem

GM Powertrain Group in Pontiac, Michigan, an engineering division responsible for the design and manufacturing of automobile engines and transmissions, had to design a complicated engine cylinder head. Because design duties were divided among design teams, each of whom were assigned a specific section of the single-piece cylinder head, communication was essential to orchestrating the final design successfully. And because of the complexity of the cylinder head's internal cavities, a two-dimensional drawing was not adequate to visualize how the various sections would interact. Three-dimensional models were absolutely necessary to validate the intricate features and to refine the individual sections for an optimal design.

What's more, the design division had to communicate to a number of other departments responsible for the manufacturing of the final product, most of whom were unfamiliar with the twodimensional CAD medium, but whose input early in the process was necessary. "For both design and manufacturing to understand the complexity of the part early on, a three-dimensional model was a must," says Dave Rogers, Design Supervisor for GM Powertrain Group.

Alternative Solution

Before receiving their Actua� 2100 solid object printer, GM Powertrain had no choice but to send designs out to the manufacturing division for tooling or rapid prototyping, a more costly and time-consuming means of producing a three-dimensional visualization model. 揥e were spending valuable rapid prototyping dollars for non-rapid prototyping applications," explains Rogers.

The process took five days from the time of request until the three-dimensional model was in the designer's hands � valuable time in GM Powertrain's fast-paced design environment. With the design team making changes on a daily basis, the model was obsolete before it arrived. Since each half-scale model cost around $2,300 per iteration, GM...