ZF Steering Gear: PTC Creo Inside India’s Automobiles

By GEOFF HEDGES | Published: NOV 26, 2013

ZF Steering Technically Supported by Adroitec Engineering Solutions Pvt Ltd on PTC's Solutions

If you’re familiar with hydraulics, you might already know about vane pumps. Patented in 1874, a vane pump mechanically spins a rotor (2), which moves vanes (or pushrods) that slide in and out of the rotor (3) in a body (1) as it turns. That motion creates a vacuum so that fluid is drawn into the empty spaces in the body. In the same motion, the rotor and vanes move the fluid to the outlet.

Engineers choose this type of pump when they want to ensure that fluid flows out in a steady stream, no matter how the pressure on the incoming liquid varies.

You find vane pumps in everything from coffee machines to aircraft flight instruments. But they’re most commonly found in automobiles and commercial vehicles, especially in the power steering. Vane pumps are driven off the car’s engine to create the pressure that allows a hydraulic cylinder to turn a vehicle’s road wheels.

As such, vane pumps are an important product for ZF Steering Gear (India), a company that calls itself “a pioneer in manufacture and supply of integral hydraulic power steering system.”

According to ZF Steering Gear’s website, a hydraulic steering system does more than make it easy to turn the wheels. It contributes to your safety and comfort as well. For example, a steering system can smooth out a drive over rough terrain and give you more control on the road. 

ZF Steering Gear uses PTC Creo to create its lightweight, compact pumps that are easy to adapt and mount. The company’s pumps must consume as little power as possible, work with variable intake pressure, and always supply a near constant oil flow, no matter the engine speed. Using vane pumps as part of a hydraulic system can also help save fuel, typically between 20% to 40%.

To make engineering more challenging, all those requirements may change from OEM to OEM. You’ll find ZF Steering Gear in dozens of the most popular commercial vehicles and car models in India, including names like:

• Ashok Leyland Ltd.
• Daimler India Ltd
• MAN-Force Trucks Pvt Ltd.
• Tata Motors Ltd.
• TAFE (Eicher Tractors Ltd.)
• Volvo India Pvt. Ltd.

You’ll also find them in Nepal, the Middle East, South Africa, and Bangladesh, in SUVs, off-road vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles, and numerous other applications.

PTC Creo ensures that ZF Steering Gear meets all these challenges with  state-of-the-art productivity tools that promote best practices in design while ensuring compliance within its industry and company standards.

To find out more about how PTC and PTC Creo is participating in India’s fast-growing economy, click here. To learn more about ZF Steering Gear India, and its commitment to innovating the future of automobiles in that country, check out this news report.

REF - See more at: http://creo.ptc.com/2013/11/26/zf-steering-gear-ptc-creo-inside-indias-automobiles/#sthash.b8lDnwcO.dpuf
ZF Steering Technically Supported by Adroitec Engineering Solutions Pvt Ltd on PTC's Solutions

Suppliers and Partners Speak a Foreign CAD Language?

By GEOFF HEDGES | Published: NOV 20, 2013

Aberdeen survey:

• 66% of 3D CAD files are delivered in a format other than the preferred one.
• Most companies now support three or more CAD systems in their design process to support these variations, both externally and even within their own companies.

What do those numbers mean to product developers? Lost time and more errors as we exchange, then fix or recreate, models among supply chain partners and vendors.

Broken Promises

Collaborative development and global supply chains promised us a future of faster, higher-quality products at a lower cost. Yet multi-CAD issues may be undermining many of these productivity gains.

Industry has been working for years to bridge these differences among 3D CAD systems, most notably by introducing neutral file formats—STEP and IGES for example. Almost any 3D CAD program today allows you to save your data as one (or both) of these unaffiliated formats.

Unfortunately, “neutral” is also sometimes called “dumb.” That’s because STEP and IGES don’t retain any of the design intent of the model. In the end, designers repair and redefine all the model constraints every time the model changes hands.

So much for solving the multi-CAD problem.

A Smarter Solution

Here’s a better way: PTC Creo and the PTC Creo Flexible Modeling Extension (FMX). With PTC Creo FMX, you import almost any 3D model and edit its geometry directly.  The design intelligence is fully retained.

In short, PTC Creo FMX saves time and reduces errors and frustration when you need to work with foreign CAD files.

Ready to speak any CAD language in your supply chain? Download and try PTC Creo and PTC Creo Flexible Modeling Extension free for 30 days.

Download the free 30-day trial here:

http://www.ptc.com/product/creo/free-trial/download.htm

What’s included?

PTC Creo Parametric. This is our full professional 3D CAD package with no added limits.

PTC Creo Flexible Modeling Extension. FMX is the add-on that allows you to make intuitive direct changes to a model.

What operating systems are supported?

Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows 8 in both 32- and 64-bit platforms. For detailed information about hardware, peripheral, and compatible software support, download this short PDF file.

What guides would you recommend for getting started with the software?

You can access hundreds of demonstrations and tutorials in PTC’s Learning Exchange:

The PTC Learning Connector, available from your installed software, is an excellent place to start finding your way around PTC Creo. The video below introduces it.

http://learningexchange.ptc.com/tutorial/2073/learning-connector-introduction

The PTC Learning Exchange page for PTC Creo Parametric videos allows you to browse targeted tutorials for popular tasks and procedures:

http://learningexchange.ptc.com/tutorial/2073/learning-connector-introduction

Finally, make sure to watch this demonstration of the PTC Creo Flexible Modeling Extension. Understanding how to import and modify files smoothly will greatly enhance your 30 days with PTC Creo Parametric.

http://learningexchange.ptc.com/tutorial/510/getting-started-with-flexible-modeling

REF-See more at: http://creo.ptc.com/2013/11/20/suppliers-and-partners-speak-a-foreign-cad-language/#sthash.YaVvLAnz.dpuf

Titan Rocks the Wristwatch with PTC Creo

By GEOFF HEDGES | Published: NOV 20, 2013

Titan watches are classy. With hundreds of models in the Titan catalog, you can find fine timepieces with gold bands, pearl inlays, and even carbon fiber dials. But don’t let that fool you. If you’re among India’s urban youth, Titan wants you to know that its watches are also very cool.

Titan’s Fastrack sub-brand features some of the company’s most aggressive and unconventional designs. Inspired by heavy metal music, Fastrack wrist gear is  modeled after electric guitars, snare drums, and motorcycles.

As such, it was probably just a matter of time before somebody thought, “How can we make a watch out of a skull and crossbones?”

Luckily, PTC Creo was there to help.

Titan engineers use the scalable interoperable suite of product design software to create the sporty and funky looks that are essential to the Fastrack brand.  They also use it to ensure manufacturability. For example, for the skull watch, designers used the advanced surfacing and assembly features in PTC Creo to split the model into a number of pieces, outsource individual components, and then re-assemble them again a single piece—without compromising the concept and or price.

Here are a few other benefits of PTC Creo the company noted on the skull project:

• Easily visualized concept designs in 3D.
• Effectively incorporated last-minute alterations to the final design.
• Saved time by working on dispersed team—e.g., easily outsourcing the skull plate.

“Fastrack watches call for innovative, complex designs combining creative potential and adaptability for manufacturing,” says Abhilash KS, technical designer. “PTC Creo helped us take a major leap in attaining our targets within optimum time.”

The business results are impressive too, the Titan watch portfolio owns over 60% of the Indian domestic market, with the  Titan Design Studio designing 500 new watch designs every year, and over 13 million watches being sold annually, achieving $1.6B in sales.

You can find out more about the Titan watch company (part of TATA industries) by watching the following video – from time stamp 1.37, the company is introduced.

  

Ref: See more at: http://creo.ptc.com/2013/11/20/titan-rocks-the-wristwatch-with-ptc-creo/#sthash.Wy3ZGcpb.dpuf

Wishing you a Happy Diwali!