Virtual Manufacturing versus Challenges in Lightweight Vehicle Programmes

The paper presents a brief summary of three different R&D projects carried out in collaboration between ESI Group and a number of academic and industrial partners. All projects are directly related to producing parts for lightweight vehicles whilst each one focuses on a different application, material or manufacturing process. It also provides an answer for the question above by demonstrating how a new simulation-based-solution is been developed based on existing tools. Respectively, the first project (LoCoLite) focuses on producing complex shape parts using hot forming of aluminium sheets; the second (Grain- Refiner) focuses on improving properties of sand-casted aluminium components by adding a novel grain-refiner; and the third one focuses on the use of multiaxial non-crimp fabrics of carbon fibres in automotive.